Posted on 01/23/2016 3:44:14 AM PST by IBD editorial writer
The flood of news stories in recent days have played up the health risks faced by people who drank the water, especially children. But just how bad is the contamination? How much harm will it end up doing?
That part of the story has largely been ignored, leaving the public with little or no context to judge the events there.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Isn’t the bigger part of this story that dozens of urban areas in northeast...are nearing the same situation, and infrastructure renovation which should have been discussed and planned in the 1980s and 1990s were simply left unattended? It’s not really a Flint problem....it’s a problem of urban leadership (mostly the Democrats who had control for 30-odd years).
Isn’t the bigger part of this story that dozens of urban areas in northeast...are nearing the same situation, and infrastructure renovation which should have been discussed and planned in the 1980s and 1990s were simply left unattended? It’s not really a Flint problem....it’s a problem of urban leadership (mostly the Democrats who had control for 30-odd years).
Yes and I am beginning to pick up that it wasn’t the river water it was the pipelines used to carry it that were the problem.
Last night I was watching the typical sensationalized reports with no fact checking and I told the wife in a few years we will learn this was totally exaggerated.
Any story that can have a Republican or a conservative Republican or a wealthy capitalist as the villain and a minority and or refugese and women and kids as the defenseless victim is guaranteed to be given large headlines above the fold for as long as possible. At least until a better one comes along.
Right now Flint is it.
I know, I know, Flint has a majority black population, black Democrat leadership as does Genesee County. BUT Michigan has a Republican governor. Doncha know.
As I see this, this damage is monumental.
1. The EPA, in their infinite lack of wisdom, told the people of Flint to switched from Lake Huron water to Flint River water.
2. Some weenie thought this would both save money and satisfy the EPA’s directive.
3. Flint River water was polluted but within EPA limits.
4. The Flint River water was also acidic.
5. In only 18 months the river acidic water ate away 90 years worth of scale and buildup in the City’s lead water pipes.
6. The pipes then started adding lead to the water and children started exhibiting signs of lead in their systems.
7. Switching back to Lake Huron water will not put 90 years of built-up scale back into the pipes, so even switching back won’t fix the problem or get rid of the lead.
8. The residents of Flint are so screwed.
9. This is the EPA’s fault.
The entire city still has lead pipes except in the new areas....which are minimal.
I'm not absolutely sure the water/pipes is the source of the higher levels in the blood.
When the typical water scale builds up, lead pipes aren’t really a problem. It was the switch to acidic river water that stripped away the scale that caused Flint’s problems.
Nor am I, there's still lots of old houses with lead paint on the walls..........
Thank you for the summary - very helpful. Saved me wading through pages of nonsense from the press, etc.
If I understand the physical chemistry correctly the quickest fix would be to re-line the pipes. This would cost significant money, and possibly cause other problems (as the pipes would now be smaller).
Several years ago it was found that the water supply for the city of Fallon, in Nevada, had “too much” arsenic in its water supply. Probably not a problem for the Native Americans who lived in the area, who had been drinking the same water since forever, but the US Navy installation there, and its personnel and their dependents put a great deal more pressure on the demands for the water supply, and the proportion of the arsenic in the water became a concern of the EPA.
Apparently EPA can raise these concerns, but they do zip to actually take any action, save fine and censure of the “offenders”.
With the collections of all these fines, EPA seems to have become just another revenue source for the Federal Government, sort of justifying their existence on the basis that the net cost of maintaining the agency is offset by the revenue collected through enforcement of the broad range of restrictions and the fines imposed.
Wasn’t Flint, Michigan, where Michael Moore grew up? How come he launched into General Motors rather than the local municipal government of Flint? The corruption had existed in that town for YEARS, including their failure to update the water supply system.
Thanks for your post. I was going to post something along the same line. The source of the water going forward will not make a difference. The aging infrastructure has been compromised.
They recently changed the level standards, too.....and voila...(See my other post)
This is a huge problem in the northeast, not just because of the age of the infrastructure but also the fact that the areas are dying economically. There is no money to fix these things; many of the companies and individuals that would have to ante up have already fled.
Who is going to buy into/move to an area where you are just buying a share in a massive IOU? So much of our current revenues are diverted to public retirees; little is left for current services, and nothing is left for maintaining the infrastructure (upgrading anything is not even on the table).
And, most of the affected pipes are inside the family home. Old galvanized pipes and in rare cases, even older lead pipes. These old lead pipes get a patina on them that shields the water from the lead. Galvanized pipe has trace amounts of lead. Even brass fittings have trace amounts of lead. Just last year a new law was passed. Fittings and pipe must be lead free. 0%. As you can imagine, the cost went up about 60% to 70%.
The river water was more acidic than the old water supply and is now leaching lead from the pipes and fittings.
My point is that homeowners are responsible for their own house and its maintenance. The State is responsible for the distribution system. While the State does bear some responsibility, I don't think they should be responsible for replacing ALL the pipes in EVERYONE'S home.
I lent money in Washington DC for over 40 years including renovation loans. A little discussed fact is that in older neighborhoods the pipes running from the mains to houses and commercial buildings are made of lead. This may explain a bit why DC is the way it is.
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