Re: To cut costs, Flint poisons its residents with lead

by **Other Teams Pursuing That** 2016-01-22, 00:15

xsanguine wrote:
Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Shots at the shitty teachers or coaches he hired, not at him. There are always things you can find to relate with different people and use that to develop a relationship with.

Like the sport your coaching them on or something?

That might be a good fucking place to start, yeah.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 00:26

xsanguine wrote:
DWags wrote:

Nah, I hired black teachers and coaches who came from completely different cultures than the kids they taught and coached and they often couldn't relate to them. Two parents who were degreed from college or they were from a white collar family who lived in a tony sub. Color of skin had nothing to do with why they couldn't relate to kids they taught that were homeless or parents were part time or a parent was in jail and they were helping to raise the whole family.

It's a culture thing often that highly educated civil servants or politicians just can't relate to or understand what the people they're serving are going through. Marie Antoinette was as French as the people she told to eat cake if they didn't have bread. After all, she was able to.

So don't say I'm treading on ground I know nothing about I lived it for 15 years

I agree and I've always said it's not a racial issue it's a cultural one... and I get shit every single time. Problem is I didn't grow up with the "highly educated" African Americans... it was the single parent household individuals I was dealing with. Lots of shitty people of all colors in my old neighborhood.

I don't know whether you know or don't know about it I was just relating my experiences growing up to that specific word. Relax, breh.

As an administrator I got my teachers seminars on it. It's immportant to understand where you came from and where others did and skin color has nothing to do with it.

Example: had a great math teacher friend I'll call him Smith. His dad was a professor mom an accountant. He happened to be black. One time in class he was in a side conversation about how much he disrespected drug dealers. How big of a loser they were. After class a junior asked him if he could talk to him. Kid was also black and he was starting to catch on that year in school. More black teachers etc. anyway Jud said, "mr. Smith I live coming to your class, love learning from you, but I want to tell you I'm a drug dealer. I do it because my brother and I are living Ina car because we can't go home and if I don't, we don't eat". Smith was floored. More than that, he realized that he didn't know how to get the kid help or who to put the kid in touch with. Two black guys, real conversation, came from two different worlds. Smith learned that day the difference between race and culture. It's my point when emergency managers are appointed and must do what they do, but often don't understand what the kids and people they are making decisions for are going through. You can hire a black guy with a Harvard education to be the EM for DPS, doesn't mean he gets it.

Here I am off on a huge talent. Settle this later. Fix the problem now b

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 00:37

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:If you can't relate with kids that come from a different upbringing, culture, or background than you - you shouldn't be a fucking teacher or a coach.

Perfect fucking example of what I'm talking about. The above was said without one fucking bit of knowledge on how hard it is to get qualified teachers and coaches. Not a clue but the answer is "you shouldn't be a fucking teacher or coach"

OTPT is a great guy, but he had no idea that we could have a math or science position go unfilled for months and we were scrambling to find anyone semi competent. Or little league dads that wanted to coach. Like you just had to put out a wanted ad and you'd get great applicants.

Hiring a guy like Smith was exciting. Well educated, well versed in the 12 power strategies of teaching, pedagogy superb but he just couldn't relate to some of the population. So you educate and run seminars and hope it works.

But as good of a guy OTPT is, he just gave me the Marie Antoinette line "no bread, get them cake". He doesn't get it because he hadn't lived it. Not trying to bust his balls, it's harder than it looks b

by **xsanguine** 2016-01-22, 00:37

I gotchu, Dwags. I agree.

My favorite teachers in high school were black males from working-class neighborhoods with a military background. Not that that in and of itself was what drew me to them but it was just what they had in common with one another. I feel like they could relate with the types of kids at the school (none of us would have been considered any higher than lower-middle class) but also had world experience and a perspective outside of that bubble. I still keep in contact with two of them and we discuss these issues very honestly with one another.

Pretty sure we agree 100% here but I tend to get annoyed when every issue in the news turns into a race issue where there wasn't one before. Beyond that I think the tactic is polarizing and pushes people that are originally down for the cause.

Once Rick's emails become public record we'll know what went down... and if it's in those emails that he or his administration targeted Flint's residents because they're black I'll come back and let you guys verbally stone me to death.

by **Other Teams Pursuing That** 2016-01-22, 00:42

DWags wrote:
Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:If you can't relate with kids that come from a different upbringing, culture, or background than you - you shouldn't be a fucking teacher or a coach.

Perfect fucking example of what I'm talking about. The above was said without one fucking bit of knowledge on how hard it is to get qualified teachers and coaches. Not a clue but the answer is "you shouldn't be a fucking teacher or coach"

OTPT is a great guy, but he had no idea that we could have a math or science position go unfilled for months and we were scrambling to find anyone semi competent. Or little league dads that wanted to coach. Like you just had to put out a wanted ad and you'd get great applicants.

Hiring a guy like Smith was exciting. Well educated, well versed in the 12 power strategies of teaching, pedagogy superb but he just couldn't relate to some of the population. So you educate and run seminars and hope it works.

But as good of a guy OTPT is, he just gave me the Marie Antoinette line "no bread, get them cake". He doesn't get it because he hadn't lived it. Not trying to bust his balls, it's harder than it looks b

Once I get through graduate school, hook me up with some connections. I'm trying to be a teacher and I bet I can figure it out better than Mr. Smith did.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 00:45

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:
DWags wrote:

Perfect fucking example of what I'm talking about. The above was said without one fucking bit of knowledge on how hard it is to get qualified teachers and coaches. Not a clue but the answer is "you shouldn't be a fucking teacher or coach"

OTPT is a great guy, but he had no idea that we could have a math or science position go unfilled for months and we were scrambling to find anyone semi competent. Or little league dads that wanted to coach. Like you just had to put out a wanted ad and you'd get great applicants.

Hiring a guy like Smith was exciting. Well educated, well versed in the 12 power strategies of teaching, pedagogy superb but he just couldn't relate to some of the population. So you educate and run seminars and hope it works.

But as good of a guy OTPT is, he just gave me the Marie Antoinette line "no bread, get them cake". He doesn't get it because he hadn't lived it. Not trying to bust his balls, it's harder than it looks b

Once I get through graduate school, hook me up with some connections. I'm trying to be a teacher and I bet I can figure it out better than Mr. Smith did.

Smiths a pretty damn good teacher now. Best teachers learn everyday and often make mistakes. You'd have to be damn good to top him. I can get you interviews I school districts still, depending on your credentials, but I can't land you a job

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 07:13

you can't boil lead out of drinking water, you fucking crackers.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 07:20

AMwood wrote:you can't boil lead out of drinking water, you fucking crackers.

To cut costs, Flint poisons its residents with lead - Page 7 502811600

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 07:33

Question is Snyder even capable of fixing this problem? I watched an interview of him with Scott pellet. He sounded like a big time asshole. I have zero confidence in him to get the job done.

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 07:44

Can a gov with zero credibility fix the problem in flint?

Has Snyder even been to flint yet? Has he looked at and seen the problem? Has he given a speech in flint telling the people he will fix the problem?

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 07:56

i may be late to the game, but can somebody here (who isn't wearing a tin foil hat) tell me how snyder is responsible for any of this?

by **Floyd Robertson** 2016-01-22, 08:00

I want to backtrack just a bit here. Who's fucking brilliant idea was it to tap the Flint river for water consumption? I'm no water scientist but I would have bet dollars to donuts that after a 100 years of polluting the river it wouldn't be safe no matter what.

Was it Snyder's idea or the brainchild of the Mayor & City Council?

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 08:07

AMwood wrote:i may be late to the game, but can somebody here (who isn't wearing a tin foil hat) tell me how snyder is responsible for any of this?

Hard to say he won't release all of his emails, and he's redacted info. in the ones that he's released.

Others deserve blame as well but lets focus on Snyder- happened on his watch, happened with one of his emergency managers appointed to Flint, slow to react and ignored warning, and with this disaster he has no credibility at this point. He has a serious problem in front of him he won't fix.

by **GRR Spartan** 2016-01-22, 08:10

The Flint water fiasco just continues to snowball. Months ago the people calling the local reporters, the Flint pediatrician who tested the kids and MSNBC's Madow who interviewed her alarmists. Nothing to see in Flint, water is safe and that was coming from the recently resigned DEQ spokesman Wurfel who wife happened to be Snyder's administrative aide's spouse.

Now the cover of Time

To cut costs, Flint poisons its residents with lead - Page 7 635889829320545154-time-cover

To cut costs, Flint poisons its residents with lead - Page 7 635889829320545154-time-cover

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 08:13

Without focusing on who caused this, lets think about right now. Is Snyder the man to fix this? Even if it was all the 'evil democrats' that caused this problem and everything else we can blame on the people of Flint. Lets just assume that we are in some fairy land where all of that is true.

Is Rick Snyder the guy you want to call in to inherit this mess to fix the problem

The correct answer is no way in hell.

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 08:14

GRR Spartan wrote:The Flint water fiasco just continues to snowball. Months ago the people calling the local reporters, the Flint pediatrician who tested the kids and MSNBC's Madow who interviewed her alarmists. Nothing to see in Flint, water is safe and that was coming from the recently resigned DEQ spokesman Wurfel who wife happened to be Snyder's administrative aide.

Now the cover of Time

The Gaurdian did a big piece on Snyder as well. The whole world is watching, and the big question on everyones minds right now is Rick Snyder and Flint.

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 08:37

Floyd Robertson wrote:I want to backtrack just a bit here. Who's fucking brilliant idea was it to tap the Flint river for water consumption? I'm no water scientist but I would have bet dollars to donuts that after a 100 years of polluting the river it wouldn't be safe no matter what.

Was it Snyder's idea or the brainchild of the Mayor & City Council?

the water from the flint river is not the problem. it is no better or worse than what a lot of municipalities use in the u.s. it was the uneducated people in charge of treating the water at whatever that flint water authority is called. the incorrectly treated water caused the lead pipes (which are also common in older communities) to leach lead.

all other water authorities know how to treat water to not have this happen. flint suffered from having people that didn't know their shit, coupled with detroilet abruptly stopping the supply of their water.

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 08:39

steveschneider wrote:
AMwood wrote:i may be late to the game, but can somebody here (who isn't wearing a tin foil hat) tell me how snyder is responsible for any of this?

Hard to say he won't release all of his emails, and he's redacted info. in the ones that he's released.

Others deserve blame as well but lets focus on Snyder- happened on his watch, happened with one of his emergency managers appointed to Flint, slow to react and ignored warning, and with this disaster he has no credibility at this point. He has a serious problem in front of him he won't fix.

can you please provide a link to the fact that the emails released after the state of the state address had redacted information? i must have missed that.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 08:41

steveschneider wrote:Without focusing on who caused this, lets think about right now. Is Snyder the man to fix this? Even if it was all the 'evil democrats' that caused this problem and everything else we can blame on the people of Flint. Lets just assume that we are in some fairy land where all of that is true.

Is Rick Snyder the guy you want to call in to inherit this mess to fix the problem

The correct answer is no way in hell.

Agree completely.
Just
Fix
The
Problem

All the blame can be placed after. There will be law suits up the ass. Feds have to just step in push the Gov aside, thank him for his effort and fix it now.

All this shit is just white noise. Distracting cheerleaders on both sides. Meanwhile people are suffering.

by **xsanguine** 2016-01-22, 08:46

AMwood wrote:you can't boil lead out of drinking water, you fucking crackers.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha.... That was perfect.

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 08:55

AMwood wrote:
steveschneider wrote:

Hard to say he won't release all of his emails, and he's redacted info. in the ones that he's released.

Others deserve blame as well but lets focus on Snyder- happened on his watch, happened with one of his emergency managers appointed to Flint, slow to react and ignored warning, and with this disaster he has no credibility at this point. He has a serious problem in front of him he won't fix.

can you please provide a link to the fact that the emails released after the state of the state address had redacted information? i must have missed that.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/21/releasing-his-emails-on-flint-clearly-wasnt-enough-so-whats-next-for-michigan-gov-rick-snyder/

Check that link there.

Won't release 2013 emails, and the Gov. doesn't have to answer FOIA requests.

With almost no transparency that's a lot of trust you have to be putting into a politician to stay honest.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 08:59

AMwood wrote:
steveschneider wrote:

Hard to say he won't release all of his emails, and he's redacted info. in the ones that he's released.

Others deserve blame as well but lets focus on Snyder- happened on his watch, happened with one of his emergency managers appointed to Flint, slow to react and ignored warning, and with this disaster he has no credibility at this point. He has a serious problem in front of him he won't fix.

can you please provide a link to the fact that the emails released after the state of the state address had redacted information? i must have missed that.

Seriously?

You really did. Not only that, but none were from 2013. However, who gives a fuck. We'll make this into a left wing right wing thing. Because we're assholes and it's like that side is our team and we need to cheer them on.

Fuck that.

by **InTenSity** 2016-01-22, 09:04

AMwood wrote:

can you please provide a link to the fact that the emails released after the state of the state address had redacted information? i must have missed that.

What exactly are you asking for? I found a link to the emails.
Snyder released emails

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 09:09

okay, i hadn't seen that. but i think it would be pretty common to redact info about a lawsuit (as you say, if we choose to believe him).

i've read plenty of articles that say he was misinformed by the 2 government agencies that are supposed to inform him of that. i think that's important.

what i would also like to see is if they had any communications about dr. attisha's findings before october.

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 09:11

DWags wrote:
AMwood wrote:

can you please provide a link to the fact that the emails released after the state of the state address had redacted information? i must have missed that.
Seriously?

You really did. Not only that, but none were from 2013. However, who gives a fuck. We'll make this into a left wing right wing thing. Because we're assholes and it's like that side is our team and we need to cheer them on.

Fuck that.

take it easy dwags. we are simply discussing this on a message board.

by Guest 2016-01-22, 09:28

Turtleneck wrote:
LooseGoose wrote:

I love you too and am glad you now see it was a Democrat problem of governance so it's no longer a R vs D issue.

That goodness you have the National Review to form your opinion for you.

You mean to provide the facts of what happened vs the emotional screeching you listen to.

by Guest 2016-01-22, 09:29

steveschneider wrote:The Gaurdian did a big piece on Snyder as well. The whole world is watching, and the big question on everyones minds right now is Rick Snyder and Flint.

While the true culprits (The Detroit City Water Department) walk away unscathed.

by **InTenSity** 2016-01-22, 09:34

LooseGoose wrote:
steveschneider wrote:The Gaurdian did a big piece on Snyder as well. The whole world is watching, and the big question on everyones minds right now is Rick Snyder and Flint.

While the true culprits (The Detroit City Water Department) walk away unscathed.

For now. Like Dwags is saying. Fix the problem now, everything else will take care of itself. There's going to be some type of oversight and investigation, outside of the hands of any Michigan agency, that will hopefully get to the bottom of what happened.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 09:36

AMwood wrote:
DWags wrote:
Seriously?

You really did. Not only that, but none were from 2013. However, who gives a fuck. We'll make this into a left wing right wing thing. Because we're assholes and it's like that side is our team and we need to cheer them on.

Fuck that.

take it easy dwags. we are simply discussing this on a message board.

You're right, but this shit pisses me off. If you aspire to those positions of power I respect that, but job one is people's health and safety. Money, jobs, education are important but secondary.

If Snyder was misinformed, those people need jail time. If he knew, he needs jail time. Fuck them all and sort it out later because it doesn't matter right now. I remember the three day power outage. What a pain in the ass. These people are having to use bottled water for everything or slow filters, plus there is no way I'd ever consider buying a house or business up there. Restaurant? I'd never stop in flint to eat. Ever. I'd keep driving till I got to Saginaw or somewhere else. Their lives are ruined.

by **DWags** 2016-01-22, 09:39

LooseGoose wrote:
steveschneider wrote:The Gaurdian did a big piece on Snyder as well. The whole world is watching, and the big question on everyones minds right now is Rick Snyder and Flint.

While the true culprits (The Detroit City Water Department) walk away unscathed.

Fuck them too. But after. All resources need to focus on one thing. Federal prosecutors, hopefully, will get the other shit done.

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 09:42

DWags wrote:
AMwood wrote:

take it easy dwags. we are simply discussing this on a message board.

You're right, but this shit pisses me off. If you aspire to those positions of power I respect that, but job one is people's health and safety. Money, jobs, education are important but secondary.

If Snyder was misinformed, those people need jail time. If he knew, he needs jail time. Fuck them all and sort it out later because it doesn't matter right now. I remember the three day power outage. What a pain in the ass. These people are having to use bottled water for everything or slow filters, plus there is no way I'd ever consider buying a house or business up there. Restaurant? I'd never stop in flint to eat. Ever. I'd keep driving till I got to Saginaw or somewhere else. Their lives are ruined.

i agree. an already beleaguered community takes a another gigantic kick to the balls. it couldn't get any worst for flint residents. and what sucks is that the poorest are the ones most affected. flint is now michigan's 3 mile island.

by **Floyd Robertson** 2016-01-22, 09:50

AMwood wrote:
Floyd Robertson wrote:I want to backtrack just a bit here. Who's fucking brilliant idea was it to tap the Flint river for water consumption? I'm no water scientist but I would have bet dollars to donuts that after a 100 years of polluting the river it wouldn't be safe no matter what.

Was it Snyder's idea or the brainchild of the Mayor & City Council?

the water from the flint river is not the problem. it is no better or worse than what a lot of municipalities use in the u.s. it was the uneducated people in charge of treating the water at whatever that flint water authority is called. the incorrectly treated water caused the lead pipes (which are also common in older communities) to leach lead.

all other water authorities know how to treat water to not have this happen. flint suffered from having people that didn't know their shit, coupled with detroilet abruptly stopping the supply of their water.

Gotcha. So the water engineers fucked up but it's Snyder's fault.

by **GRR Spartan** 2016-01-22, 10:10

Floyd Robertson wrote:
AMwood wrote:

the water from the flint river is not the problem. it is no better or worse than what a lot of municipalities use in the u.s. it was the uneducated people in charge of treating the water at whatever that flint water authority is called. the incorrectly treated water caused the lead pipes (which are also common in older communities) to leach lead.

all other water authorities know how to treat water to not have this happen. flint suffered from having people that didn't know their shit, coupled with detroilet abruptly stopping the supply of their water.
Gotcha. So the water engineers fucked up but it's Snyder's fault.

It comes with being the governor, appointing emergency managers, appointing DEQ directors being at the top of the organizational chart and asking the right questions.

AM wood is correct about water chemistry and what it can do to pipes. The canary in the coal mine were GM's reports that water from the Flint River was damaging their equipment. No questions were asked.

Now we see where the cards fall. A lot of people working for the Snyder administration told the public Flint's water was safe when it wasn't. His emergency manager, his DEQ spokesman, his DEQ director. When you run for governor and win you get responsibilities.

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 10:13

GRR Spartan wrote:
Floyd Robertson wrote:
Gotcha. So the water engineers fucked up but it's Snyder's fault.

It comes with being the governor, appointing emergency managers, appointing DEQ directors being at the top of the organizational chart and asking the right questions.

AM wood is correct about water chemistry and what it can do to pipes. The canary in the coal mine were GM's reports that water from the Flint River was damaging their equipment. No questions were asked.

Now we see where the cards fall. A lot of people working for the Snyder administration told the public Flint's water was safe when it wasn't. His emergency manager, his DEQ spokesman, his DEQ director. When you run for governor and win you get responsibilities.

Snyder said in an interview just yesterday he'd let his grand kids drink and bathe in Flint water and then his nose grew about 3 feet.

by **Wally Fairway** 2016-01-22, 10:14

You know who says Synder should be prosecuted?

Anonymous

and maybe related, the hospital in Flint had it's network hacked

by **steveschneider** 2016-01-22, 10:16

AMwood wrote:okay, i hadn't seen that. but i think it would be pretty common to redact info about a lawsuit (as you say, if we choose to believe him).

i've read plenty of articles that say he was misinformed by the 2 government agencies that are supposed to inform him of that. i think that's important.

what i would also like to see is if they had any communications about dr. attisha's findings before october.

My take is its like sports. Is it the managers fault that a pitcher can't throw strikes? Is it a head coaches fault that the FG kicker kicked it wide of the goal posts?

At the end of the day it goes to the top and the head coach gets fired.

This all happened on Rick's watch. He's acknowledged some of the blame.

Question for you do you think he can clean up this mess?

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 10:27

steveschneider wrote:
AMwood wrote:okay, i hadn't seen that. but i think it would be pretty common to redact info about a lawsuit (as you say, if we choose to believe him).

i've read plenty of articles that say he was misinformed by the 2 government agencies that are supposed to inform him of that. i think that's important.

what i would also like to see is if they had any communications about dr. attisha's findings before october.

My take is its like sports. Is it the managers fault that a pitcher can't throw strikes? Is it a head coaches fault that the FG kicker kicked it wide of the goal posts?

At the end of the day it goes to the top and the head coach gets fired.

This all happened on Rick's watch. He's acknowledged some of the blame.

Question for you do you think he can clean up this mess?

shit, i have no idea. i would guess anybody with a half a brain could. especially with the full heat of the national media scrutinizing every move.

by Guest 2016-01-22, 14:28

DAVID MASTIO: Flint lead crisis getting a tad overdone: Before hitting the panic button, remember we are winning the war on lead poisoning. “Flint’s 8,000 children have not had their lives destroyed. Jesse Jackson can roll up his crime tape. Michael Moore can go back to promoting his latest film. Taken as a whole, in fact, Flint’s kids are better off than the previous generations of Michigander kids in at least one important way. Even after Flint’s disaster, the city’s children have far less lead in their blood than their parents or grandparents did at the same age.”

Yes, instead of lynching the Democratic town leaders who let this happen, it’s worth keeping things in perspective.

Flint lead crisis getting a tad overdone: David Mastio

by **Turtleneck** 2016-01-22, 14:44

AMwood wrote:
Floyd Robertson wrote:I want to backtrack just a bit here. Who's fucking brilliant idea was it to tap the Flint river for water consumption? I'm no water scientist but I would have bet dollars to donuts that after a 100 years of polluting the river it wouldn't be safe no matter what.

Was it Snyder's idea or the brainchild of the Mayor & City Council?

the water from the flint river is not the problem. it is no better or worse than what a lot of municipalities use in the u.s. it was the uneducated people in charge of treating the water at whatever that flint water authority is called. the incorrectly treated water caused the lead pipes (which are also common in older communities) to leach lead.

all other water authorities know how to treat water to not have this happen. flint suffered from having people that didn't know their shit, coupled with detroilet abruptly stopping the supply of their water.

Except water from the Flint River contains exceptionally more chloride that most other sources. In that regard, it is worse than "a lot of other municipalities" and is the reason GM stopped using the water in 2014. It is the water + human incompetence caused all of this.

According to Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech team’s lead hydrologist, the problem with Flint River water is that it’s highly corrosive—about 19 times more than Detroit water. That corrosiveness is breaking down old lead pipes and soldering that connect homes to water mains.

Water usually becomes capable of destroying metal when it’s got lots of salt in it. How does salt get into the Flint River? Edwards says it occurs naturally to an extent, but that the big culprit is likely road salt, which is mostly sodium chloride. It’s estimated that about the U.S. uses about 109 pounds of road salt per person every year. Cities actually faced road salt shortages last winter because demand was greater than ever.

“There are many other utilities in the Northeast that have been seeing these rising chloride levels,” says Edwards. “We’re working with utilities that had had no lead problem up until recently. As road salt use rose, it reached a trigger point.”

In Flint, Edwards says, the city was not adding a corrosion inhibitor to the water for “inexplicable” reasons.

http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/whats-putting-lead-into-the-water-in-flint-michigan/406912/

by **AMwood** 2016-01-22, 15:01

Turtleneck wrote:
AMwood wrote:

the water from the flint river is not the problem. it is no better or worse than what a lot of municipalities use in the u.s. it was the uneducated people in charge of treating the water at whatever that flint water authority is called. the incorrectly treated water caused the lead pipes (which are also common in older communities) to leach lead.

all other water authorities know how to treat water to not have this happen. flint suffered from having people that didn't know their shit, coupled with detroilet abruptly stopping the supply of their water.

Except water from the Flint River contains exceptionally more chloride that most other sources. In that regard, it is worse than "a lot of other municipalities" and is the reason GM stopped using the water in 2014. It is the water + human incompetence caused all of this.

According to Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech team’s lead hydrologist, the problem with Flint River water is that it’s highly corrosive—about 19 times more than Detroit water. That corrosiveness is breaking down old lead pipes and soldering that connect homes to water mains.

Water usually becomes capable of destroying metal when it’s got lots of salt in it. How does salt get into the Flint River? Edwards says it occurs naturally to an extent, but that the big culprit is likely road salt, which is mostly sodium chloride. It’s estimated that about the U.S. uses about 109 pounds of road salt per person every year. Cities actually faced road salt shortages last winter because demand was greater than ever.

“There are many other utilities in the Northeast that have been seeing these rising chloride levels,” says Edwards. “We’re working with utilities that had had no lead problem up until recently. As road salt use rose, it reached a trigger point.”

In Flint, Edwards says, the city was not adding a corrosion inhibitor to the water for “inexplicable” reasons.

http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/whats-putting-lead-into-the-water-in-flint-michigan/406912/

i believe any community drawing water from inland sources faces this problem. it's just that flint's water authority didn't treat this water correctly.

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