Many residents in the Flint, Michigan, are still concerned about the quality of their water and about the claims made by the government. Not only do they continue to suffer physically and emotionally from the ordeal, but many have been engaged in legal battles as well over the incident, and are now also facing increasing cost in their water bills.
Following the disaster, the state had stepped in to subsidize the water bills, but their program has recently ended. Residents in the area are now seeing a drastic increase in their water bill cost, for a product that they don't even trust and many of them still refuse to use.
Recent samples are said to indicate that the water is safe now for drinking, but many people don't trust the government and they aren't buying it; they don't want to take any chances. A lot of residents are using bottled water and filters, rather than going to the tap. Many are only using tap water for their dish cleaning and not much else.
Since the disaster occurred, millions of dollars in donations in the way of bottled water has been donated to the state. To date, at least 13 state and local officials have been charged over the incident. And it's also estimated that tens of thousands of people were affected.
Officials still say that they might be at least 2 years away from declaring the water as safe to drink, thanks to the underground lines that still need replacing. Thus far, a number of lawsuits have been launched to seek remedy for the victims of the incident, but various lawsuits have also been dismissed (see links below).
The mayor of Flint, Karen Weaver, has said that she hopes they will receive help in solving the infrastructure crisis. Perhaps if they endorsed competition and a free market in the way of water, then they would see a superior system prevail. And residents wouldn't be stuck paying for something that is likely making them sick.
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Sources:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/return-to-flint-after-tainted-water-crisis-residents-hit-with-rising-water-bills-1.4011235
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2017/03/state_reports_february_water_t.html
http://www.wxyz.com/news/flint-hosts-three-day-national-conference-on-water-and-infrastructure
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/05/us/flint-water-crisis-treatment-plan/
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2017/03/flint_mayor_gov_snyder_ask_for.html
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