Risk Assessment of the Flint Water Crisis - Essay Example

Risk Assessment of the Flint Water Crisis

The residents of Flint are facing a severe health hazard. Their water supply is polluted due to negligent governance. The problem began when the city government shifted the source of water from the Detroit River and Lake Huron to the Flint River. The lead pipes that carried the water leaked the heavy metal. As a result, the number of illnesses caused by water impurities surged, and community members started to protest. Assessing this risk is crucial in understanding its effects and adequately preparing to alleviate and recover from its damages. I hold the view that the town should implement both short term and long term solutions concurrently. The short term solution to the water crisis is corrosion control in the lead pipes, while the long term plan involves the overhaul of the water infrastructure in the area despite the high costs involved.

Pertinent Issues and Emergency Response Strategies for the Flint Water Crisis

In my view, the Flint water crisis should be mitigated because lead is poisonous, and because the community deserves clean water. High levels of lead in the blood are extremely harmful. For example, they cause learning disabilities and cognitive impediments in children, and lower IQ levels, anemia, and heart disease in grownups (Shelson, 2016). Unfortunately, the people of Flint have faced these dangers since 2015. Officials initially underplayed the hazard and caused irreversible harm as citizens continued to consume the tainted water. Therefore, restoring freshwater should be a priority for policymakers. It should follow a series of steps to ensure that the response is adequate.

I propose that Flint should use more anticorrosive substances and replace the lead pipes to stop contaminating the water. The water from the Flint River corroded the lead pipes, and large quantities of the heavy metal seeped into the supply (Shelson, 2016). Therefore, corrosive inhibitors like phosphates should reduce the rate at which the water destroys the metal tubes. The township should also learn from the city of Madison, Wisconsin, and change its water pipes. Representatives removed lead pipes after they discovered lead in the water. Consequently, the city minimized exposure to the metal by maintaining low levels. Madison’s success justifies the costs of executing my strategy.

The cost of using corrosion inhibitors is relatively low compared to replacing all the lead pipes but is as effective. The price of Phosphates, the chemical element mainly used for anti-corrosion, is, however, going up with time, which prompted the township to consider money saving strategies. The town estimated that it needed 140 dollars per day for treatment of the water with phosphates (Olson, 2016). However, this price does not match the cost of replacing the lead pipes as the officials need to take into account the labor and material costs. A report estimates the total cost at more than 216 million dollars, which may be higher than what the township can afford and advises that they should undertake it for eight years (Felton, 2016). The high cost of infrastructural upgrades dictates that the town should extend construction over time with contingency plans executed along the way. The project's high costs and the adverse effects of the harmful water have exposed differing interests among the stakeholders.

The impacts of implementing my project are the formulation of new laws, reformed political affairs, and better health. Policymakers will develop new standards that will guide water supply management. The project will ensure that the water is free from heavy metals and other impurities, making it safe for human consumption. Charging of corrupt officials will ensure accountability. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to revise new federal regulations on lead in drinking water. More than a dozen lawsuits have been filled, thereby encouraging accountability on the part of political actors (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). The cumulative effect of all these factors only ensures the safety of drinking water for Flint residents, resulting in better health.

Failing to undertake my project will elevate health issues, increase lawsuits, and political consequences. The health hazards trigger community protests and legal actions, including several lawsuits that seek injunctions because public officials are slow to admit their mistakes. For instance, lawsuits forced the township to switch back to Detroit's water supply and demand compensation for the damages (Pauli, 2020). Also, protests aim at compelling politicians to act and find working solutions. Members of the community have protested for the dangers posed to their health with smelly brown water in their jugs during community forums. This crisis has resulted in political actions such as the sucking and suspension of individuals (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Also, inaction on the part of the city officials may lead to anarchy and a decline in the community's general health. The town should, therefore, take a series of steps in order to manage the Flint water incident effectively.

As it pertains to preparedness, the city should install alternative water sources to help during similar crises. Water is an essential commodity that people cannot live without; hence, there is a need to have a secondary source in case the primary source is contaminated. The city shifted to Detroit water when the lead levels and microorganisms were too high for humans to consume, thereby alleviating a possibly disastrous situation (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Preparedness is a factor that the city should consider even as it establishes long-term plans to minimize the shocks of potentially harmful situations. Another way of dealing with the situation is helping the communities to cope with the crisis's effects.

Private organizations can establish water treatment plants. Private and community interventions will help reduce the harmful effects of consuming lead-contaminated water by providing clean water sources even while the township is incapable of solving its situation. Such an initiative was taken by General Motors and neighboring communities resulting in the supply of clean water, although at a higher price (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Therefore, the community should be open to temporary solutions that minimize the hazardous materials' effects in the water supply. In addition to mitigation, the township has to respond to other humanitarian challenges that emerge from the crisis.

The city and other aid agencies should compensate and provide health care to cover the needs of those affected. Health needs can be met by covering medical costs or issuing some form of compensation to limit the economic impact on those who were made sick by hazardous materials. The costs of the Flint Water crisis are substantial, especially if hospitalization, treatment, and physical costs are taken into account (Zahran, McElmurry &Sadler, 2017). Therefore, the city should assist most is affected individuals in getting their healthy lives back, even before instituting recovery plans.

Another action that the city has to take is to restore systems to normal by reducing corrosion of lead pipes and replacing them gradually. There is a need to restore water quality supplied by the city to acceptable standards as it was before the change from the water supply from Detroit to Flint River. The recovery plan involves the use of anticorrosive elements and the replacement of water pipes, which is executed in phases due to the strained budget by the city authorities (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). If the recovery efforts continue consistently, the water quality will be improved over time, thereby ensuring that the city dwellers are safe. Huddles are, however, expected during the entire emergency response process.

The community and responders are likely to experience disrupted water supply and incur high infrastructure costs when responding to the hazard. The city has many other needs making it impractical to allocate all the resources to one project, and the community will experience regular water disruptions occasioned by the replacement. For instance, the emergency management leader rejected the switch back to water from Detroit due to fears that prices would go up while the actual change would disrupt water supply for weeks as the water quality could not be improved instantly (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). There should be an elaborate plan for reducing the costs and inconveniences. The plan should include finding alternative sources of funds like donations and grants for it to work.

Currently, several donations and interventions have been issued by the Federal government and individuals to deal with the Flint water crisis. These donations ensure that both short term and long term solutions are implemented and is a welcomed addition that relieves the already strained city budget. For instance, President Obama donated 5 million dollars and declared a state of emergency in 2016. Additionally, Elon Musk donated 480,350 dollars in the construction of ultraviolet filtration systems in schools within the district (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). The aid from the federal government and individuals represent goodwill from stakeholders. The support from these groups will be essential during the execution of short term and long term strategies.

The short term goal is to lower the level of lead in water to acceptable levels while the long term goal is to eliminate it. The representatives can attain the short time goal through consistent use of corrosion inhibitors that will keep lead levels below 15ppb. They will, however, have to execute a gradual but complete shift to environmentally friendly pipes to achieve the long term goal. EPA regulations set the Maximum Containment level goal (MCLG) of lead in water at 0 ppb while the maximum allowable level (MCL) is at 15 ppb (Shelson, 2016). The short term goal of the project, therefore, is to align the lead levels in Flint water with EPA MCL while the long term goal seeks to achieve the MCLG.

Conclusion

The plan by the Flint city authorities to shift from Detroit water supply to Flint river presented the town with one of the worst water crises in the US, resulting in adverse effects on the health of the residents, triggered the legislation of new water safety regulations and exposed political ill will. The water's hazardous nature could be seen through its color and foul smell and confirmed through tests, which indicated that the water had high levels of lead, bacteria, and other pollutants. The city, therefore, has to implement short-term recovery plans, including water treatment, corrosion control, and a long-term plan, which involves the replacement of all the lead pipes to ensure the safety of the drinking water for the Flint communities. Finally, policymakers should develop relevant water quality regulations that ensure water supplied to the public meet the necessary health standards.