Deadly Disease Strikes After Cost-Cutting Contaminated Flint’s Water Supply

Maurice Rice organizes cases of free water outside a Flint church.Conor Ralph/The Flint Journal-MLive.com/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Residents in Flint, Michigan have been outraged since the discovery that their water is tainted with lead, a substance has irreversible neurological and developmental effects on children. The contamination came after the city of 100,000 changed water sources in April 2014, switching from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River in an effort to cut costs.

Yesterday brought even more bad news: Cases of Legionnaires’ Disease have spiked in Genessee County since Flint, the largest city in the county, began using the river water. There have been 87 cases of the disease since June of 2014, ten of which have been fatal. According to the CDC, Legionnaires’ disease is a pneumonia-like respiratory infection that can cause fevers, coughing, muscle aches, and, in severe cases, death. It grows in warm water, like that in hot tubs and fountains.

State health officials say they cannot confirm that the change in the water supply caused the spike, since some cases occurred among people who hadn’t been exposed to Flint’s water. Marc Edwards, a scientist at Virginia Tech who played a key role in exposing the water’s lead contamination, told the Detroit Free Press that there’s a “very strong likelihood” that the change in water supply played a role in the disease’s recent surge.

Flint switched back to Detroit’s water in October, and health officials predict that the change will reduce the number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the coming years. However, lead continues to leach into the water because the city’s lead pipes were corroded by Flint River water.

In a press conference yesterday about the spike Legionnaires’ disease, Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged that “the healthcare community has been aware of this issue for some time in the Flint area.”

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate