When Michael J. Thorp and his wife Ginny first noticed the water coming out of the faucets in their Flint home was cloudy and sandy-looking, they didn’t think too much of it.
The couple had moved to Flint from Atlas Township, where they’d had a well for 25 years that also had cloudy and sandy water. Thorp, the former Goodrich School Board member, had also grown up in Flint and notes that when fire hydrants lines are flushed, it can also affect the color of water.
However, the change came in April of 2014, when the City of Flint began providing residents with water from the Flint River as a way to save money. The corrosive water, which was left untreated, leached lead from pipes and now the Thorps, as well as the rest of Flint’s residents, the state, and now the country knows the city was and is in a man-made disaster of epic proportions.
‘People are scared and worried, they don’t know what to believe and who to turn to,? said Thorp on Tuesday, hours before Gov. Rick Snyder gave a State of the State address in which he personally apologized and also spread blame for a crisis in which children will suffer the lifelong effects of lead poisoning. ‘I’m pleased they went back to Detroit water, but the damage is done and that’s the sad truth. Who is going to trust the state anymore? I don’t trust them. Most people were told, ‘The water is fine, the health department tested it, it’s fine, the DEQ tested it, it’s fine.? We find out now were were lied to, and if we weren’t lied to, they didn’t know what they were talking about and that’s even scarier.?
According to a timeline of the Flint water crisis at michigan.gov, Flint began the first of two 6-month monitoring periods for lead and copper in the water in July 2014. In February 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality discussed high levels of lead in the water and a DEQ email to the EPA stated the Flint water treatment plant had an ‘optimized corrosion control program.? Almost two months later, the DEQ reported to the EPA that no corrosion control treatment was in place.
Meanwhile, anxiety was growing. A Flint doctor raised concerns to officials, as did a Virginia Tech professor, both of whom had performed tests, one on patients, the other on water samples, and found alarming lead levels, but according to the timeline, the DEQ dismissed the professor’s findings. The timeline shows that in August 2015, church pastors were giving out water filters. It wasn’t until Oct. 1, 2015 that the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed a lead problem and the City of Flint warned residents to not drink the water. On Oct. 16, Flint reconnected with the Detroit Water and Sewer Department System (which takes water from Lake Huron). On Dec. 14, the City of Flint declared an emergency. About two weeks later, the DEQ director as well as the communications director resigned.
So far this month, Snyder has declared a state of emergency for Genesee County, requested Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, and requested a presidential declaration of a major disaster in Flint. He was denied the disaster declaration, reserved for natural disasters, but granted an emergency declaration and federal aid.
Locally, churches and residents are stepping up to help, too.
Peter Plum is the emergency water crisis coordinator for the Crossroads District of the United Methodist Church. The Crossroads District includes a large portion of Genesee County, as well as northern Oakland County, including Seymour Lake United Methodist Church. Plum’s wife, Janine Plum, is pastor of SLUMC, and the pair are Brandon Township residents.
As the emergency water crisis coordinator, Plum is coordinating donations for the purchase and delivery of PUR water filtration systems to Flint churches, which are distributing the filters and replacements to Flint residents. They also have water testing kits.
‘No one filters 100 percent of the lead, but this filters enough to satisfy DEQ requirements for drinkable water,? said Plum. ‘Some people have skin irritations from the water. The lead has to be consumed in order to hurt you, like a little kid eating lead chips, that is where it becomes dangerous…It’s an unfortunate situation and UMC is committed to our neighbors and our community and we want to be there to help however we can. This is so big and so beyond what we can do.?
Plum said each of about eight United Methodist churches throughout the city have been supplied with at least 85 filters and 90 replacement filters. The county and city are also providing free filters.
Plum said he has been able to keep up with demand and the churches felt filters would be a better option than bottled water, which they lack room to store for a crisis that is not expected to be quickly resolved.
St. Anne Church in Ortonville is accepting donations of bottled water to give to Flint residents, said Karyn Milligan, Christian Services Coordinator.
‘This is a critical situation and it will not be a quick fix, it will take a long time to figure out how to resolve this to the best interest of the people in Flint,? she said. ‘I don’t see how it can be corrected in a short amount of time and they are passing out filters, but how many children have been drinking this water for the past few years and what kind of ramifications will we have in the future? Water was used for their formula… What about our seniors that are sick with diseases that come from just living on this Earth and they’re compromising their immune systems from drinking the water??
The Thorps moved back to Flint to be closer to Michael J. Thorp’s job as a morning talk show host on WWCK-AM radio. On Tuesday morning, roles were reversed as he was the one being interviewed by An Atlanta, Ga. Station about what is happening in Flint. The story has made national headlines.
Thorp is not worried about the water in his home, located in a historic neighborhood off Miller Road and near the Michigan School for the Deaf. He has always used filters, even when he lived in Atlas Township, and he believes the problem is more severe in older, poorer neighborhoods where homes have been abandoned. He believes this is because the pipes have never been replaced. Now they must be.
‘These pipes are shot, they have to be replaced because of what they did in not treating the water,? said Thorp. ‘They did that to save $1.5 million a year and it is going to cost hundreds of millions to fix these pipes. The important thing to remember is anyone in the state that has city municipal water has lead pipe somewhere. If the water is treated right, it should be fine, but this could happen anywhere. Who do you trust? The state, the water department, the health department? The DEQ? Well, good for you. That is what they told us, too. Who do you trust? Water is the staff of life, you can go without eating, but a couple days without water you’re done. That is why people are scared and worried. When you have a kid that is 5 or 6 and for 2 years they drank that crap? There is reason to be afraid.?
‘I want Flint made right,? he continued. ‘Whatever happens to the governor he has to live with himself and what happened here. He will never be elected to anything again and will always be associated with one of the biggest disasters in Michigan history. We just want it fixed.?
You can help by sending donations to:
Flint Water Crisis
Crossroads District Office of the UMC
1309 N. Ballenger Hwy. Ste. #2, Flint, MI 48504
Bottled water donations can be dropped off at St. Anne Church, 825 S. Ortonville Road. The church also needs drivers to deliver the water to the main Flint Fire Station. For more information, call 248-627-3965.