Flint Water Crisis: What Happened and Why?

Masten, Susan J.; Davies, Simon H.; McElmurry, Shawn P.

doi:10.5942/jawwa.2016.108.0195

Cited by 180 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…In the switch from Detroit (Phase A) to Flint River water (Phase B), which occurred on April 25 th 2014, we forward 30 days to account for the chemistry involved in the dissolve of passivation layers inside lead-based pipes in the Flint water system. 1 This passivation lag of 30 days in the switch from Phase A to B is also consistent with the timing of complaints by residents with respect to the color, taste, and odor of drinking water (see Masten et al (2016)). A 30 day lag in going from Phase B to C is also scientifically warranted to account for the known residence time of lead in child bloodstreams (Hu et al, 1998; Lidsky and Schneider, 2003; Rabinowitz, 1991).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Starting in summer 2014, a number of water quality problems developed, some of which resulted in violations of Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA) standards. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliform violations resulted in the issuance of a series of boil water alerts (Emery, 2016; Masten et al, 2016). While boil advisories were not meant to address the problem of lead contaminated water – as the lead problem was not fully understood in this episode of the crisis – retrospective analyses of the period (see Christensen et al 2017) indicate a substantial and sustained increase in the purchase of bottled water among residents in Genesee County following the issuance of boil water alerts, indicating significant water avoidance by the local population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…water age), the greater the amount of dissolution of the passivation layer. These conditions responsible for the dissolution of the passivation layer are described by Masten et al (2016). Following the switch back to Detroit water, now supplied by the GLWA, chemical conditions of the new water supply, mainly the presence of orthophosphate, resulted in precipitation and the rebuilding of the passivation layer.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Four phases of the Flint Water Crisis: Evidence from blood lead levels in children

Zahran

McElmurry

Sadler

2017

Environmental Research

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The Flint Water Crisis (FWC) is divisible into four phases of child water-lead exposure risk: Phase A) before the switch in water source to the Flint River (our baseline); Phase B) after the switch in water source, but before boil water advisories; Phase C) after boil water advisories, but before the switch back to the baseline water source of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD); and Phase D) after the switch back to DWSD. The objective of this work is to estimate water-lead attributable movements in child blood lead levels (BLLs) that correspond with the four phases in the FWC. With over 21,000 geo-referenced and time-stamped blood lead samples from children in Genesee County drawn from January 01, 2013 to July 19, 2016, we develop a series of quasi-experimental models to identify the causal effect of water-lead exposure on child BLLs in Flint. We find that the switch in water source (transitioning from phase A to B) caused mean BLLs to increase by about 0.5 μg/dL, and increased the likelihood of a child presenting with a BLL ≥ 5 μg/dL by a factor of 1.91 to 3.50, implying an additional 561 children exceeding 5 μg/dL. We conservatively estimate cohort social costs (through lost earnings alone) of this increase in water-lead exposed children at $65 million, contrasted with expected annual savings of $2 million from switching water source. On the switch from Phase B to C, we find BLLs decreased about 50% from their initial rise following boil water advisories and subsequent water avoidance behaviors by households. Finally, the return to the baseline source water (Phase D) returned child BLLs to pre-FWC levels further implicating water-lead exposure as a causal source of child BLLs throughout the FWC.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Four phases of the Flint Water Crisis: Evidence from blood lead levels in children

Zahran

McElmurry

Sadler

2017

Environmental Research

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“…This article investigates the potential for CCT impacts resulting from water quality variances attributable to source water changes or blending in the distribution system. The events in Flint, Mich., that began in 2014 have sharply illustrated the potential impact that a source water change can have on a water system's corrosion control strategy (Masten et al ). However, source water changes do not have to be as dramatic as completely switching from one source to another for source water changes to influence CCT.…”

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confidence: 99%

Impacts of Source Water Blending on Lead Release

Roth¹,

Wagner

Cornwell

2018

Journal AWWA

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Historically, corrosion control in the United States for Lead and Copper Rule compliance has focused on treatment to reduce the distributed water's plumbosolvency. Corrosion control treatment (CCT) typically focuses on either control of pH and alkalinity, development and maintenance of Pb(IV) scale under oxidized conditions, or use of orthophosphate-based corrosion inhibitors. These CCT methods are influenced by source water quality parameters such as pH and dissolved inorganic carbon; thus, CCT can potentially be affected when source waters with different water qualities blend in the distribution system. If portions of the distribution system are exposed to blends of source waters with disparate water qualities, testing may be warranted to determine whether optimal CCT is being maintained where and when blending occurs, especially in transitional periods. This article discusses the theoretical impacts of blending source waters with different water qualities and presents research that was conducted on waters from two utilities to illustrate the potential impacts that source water changes can have on CCT.

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“…Water consumers were the first to sound the alarm when they perceived taste, odor, or color changes in West Virginia 3 and Flint, Michigan 4 during recent large scale chemical contamination events. However, the role of sensory perception and detection of drinking water contamination is quite complex, both in terms of appropriate methodological approach and interpretation of the results.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sustainable Development Goals for Water: The Need to Consider Perception, Preference, and Safety

Stauber¹

2017

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Flint Water Crisis: What Happened and Why?

Abstract: The Flint River is a variable water source and thus a challenge to treat; oversights and missteps combined with inherent chemical conditions set the stage for the historic water crisis in Flint, Mich.

Cited by 180 publications

References 8 publications

Four phases of the Flint Water Crisis: Evidence from blood lead levels in children

Four phases of the Flint Water Crisis: Evidence from blood lead levels in children

Impacts of Source Water Blending on Lead Release

The Sustainable Development Goals for Water: The Need to Consider Perception, Preference, and Safety

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