In April of 2014, lead was released into the water of Flint, Michigan. The lead was released into the water when the river water damaged the city pipes and those damaged pipes released lead into the water. This crisis affected 100,000 people. The residents of Flint, Michigan were told to only use bottled water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, bathing, etc. In 2017 the water got better but wasn’t safe yet so the people had to continue using bottled water until the water isn’t contaminated with lead anymore. It has been said on Michigan Radio that this issue will not be solved any later than 2020. The timing for is set for 2020 because there are 18,000 services that have been contaminated that need to be replaced.

Coming in contact with this water can cause a lot of health problems which vary from heart failure, kidney failure, behavioral disorders such as acting out, hearing problems and a lot of other health problems.

There are so many places around the world that have these same issues. As a continent, parts of Africa have been struggling such as Libya, Western Sahara, Yemen, Djibouti, and Jordan, Africa. Africa has struggled to have access to safe, clean water and struggle with health problems because of this issue.

If the Flint situation is taken into strong consideration and solved before it causes more damage, other places might take their water situation into hand and solve their issues.

There are also places in Utah that have water issues. Living in the U.S doesn’t guarantee you clean, healthy water. There are places all over the U.S that struggle with getting access to clean water. 1 in 9 people in the world doesn’t have access to clean water. Nearly 1.6 million people living in the U.S struggle with water poverty.  For example Magna, Utah has water problems. The water in Magna is salty.

“Magna water has a very distinct taste. It isn’t necessarily appealing to everyone. Some people can’t stand it and look for other sources of water while others drink it with no issues. I personally don’t like Magna water but I’ll still drink it if I’m thirsty” said Yinet Romero Cyprus High School. In order to get water, these people have to travel outside of the city to get access to clean water.

“The water tastes different. It also runs out of hot water really fast,” said Lacie Henn living in Magna, Utah attending Cyprus High School. Living in Magna for a while some get used to the water but others avoid using it because they don’t find the water to be good.

Testings shown by The Salt Lake Tribune have shown that over 200 schools in Utah have lead in the drinking water. 6 of these schools are in the Granite School District. If the levels of lead in the water exceed this standard, it can cause damage to human health. The amount of lead in these waters exceed the Environmental Protection Agency action level which is 15 micrograms per liter. Some contain low amounts but can still cause harm to children’s development. This relates to the Flint, Michigan water crisis as they both contain lead and are a risk to the people who have no other resource of water other than this water and also to the residents of Flint.

        The residents of Flint, Michigan have been complaining about the issues with their water since the summer of 2014. They were told that the water had no problems and was drinkable which started to cause health problems. It has been said that over 100 residents have died due to the issue of the water. These deaths are based on the bacteria contained in the water.

It has been two years and authorities of Flint, Michigan have still not resolved this issue. There has been the prediction of when the issue will be solved but so many more people can get harmed within that time period. The people of Flint should be provided with bottled water that is clean for them to use to drink, bathe, cook, and do many other things.