10 years later, Flint’s and America’s water remains unnecessarily hazardous

Long before my role as president of the American Public Health Association, I was a normal woman from Flint, Mich.

Flint is home. It is where I committed myself to public health over the last 40 years, started a family, developed rich friendships and found my voice. It is where I learned to speak the truth clearly and directly, and it is why I believe that our nation’s inability to fix lead in our water systems is slowly killing us all.

As we recognize the 10th anniversary of the water crisis in Flint, I am working to focus on the strides we have accomplished but struggle to ignore that we have yet to move on this significant issue. Ten years ago, the nation came together to defend my small hometown. Many may look at November’s proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule as a continuation of this movement, addressing the nationwide crisis of lead in drinking water that affects nearly 21 million Americans beyond Flint. 

The events still happening in Flint to this day, however, forecast how this rule will leave critical gaps that continue to jeopardize the health and well-being of marginalized communities.

The proposal includes a new action level of 10 parts per billion, which is an improvement from the current standard, but is twice the level of lead recommended by health experts and governments across the globe. Many of us fall short of health standards — I still add cream to my coffee (prepared with bottled water) every day, against my doctor’s orders.  While we welcome improvement of any kind, the EPA is not just allowing two times the amount of lead we should have into our water, they are also ignoring three notable flaws in their proposal that will cause harm to low-income and poor communities: reporting, timeline and cost.

Reporting lead in water was a problem long before the people of Flint got sick, yet the EPA makes no effort to address the well-known and unashamed lack of reporting when standards are exceeded. In 2014, the people of Flint were not informed of the extent of lead contamination in their water due to the ongoing reporting of abnormalities. 

While the rule sets a timeline of 10 years for lead service line replacement, provisions allow exceptions for water utilities to extend beyond that deadline. Considering the City of Flint promised to replace all its old lead pipes by 2020 and, still has not done so by 2024, I am not sure we can rely on this rule if there are exceptions before the work even starts.

Costs will also pose a problem in replacement, as there is no formal requirement in this proposed rule for water systems to cover the full cost of lead service line replacement. In communities like mine, we would not have been able to afford the entire cost of lead pipe replacement. Does that mean we deserve to be slowly poisoned? 

One of my most pressing concerns is the rule’s limited focus on schools and childcare centers. Even low levels of lead can cause learning disabilities and behavior problems in children. Yet national standards have allowed fountains, faucets, pipes and plumbing in our schools to contain a significant amount of lead.  

Lead is an insidious danger. It steals your mind, your body, and in some cases, your children. For me, it stole my beautiful hair — a documented impact for many people in Flint. 

My knowledge, connections with officials, access to lead water researchers and voice, which rang loudly in the public health sector of Michigan for the better part of 30 years, were not enough to save me or my family and friends from negligent laws and policies. This proposed rule is a commendable improvement, especially after the regression of pollution and water safety standards that we have seen over the last decade, but it falls short of the bold action needed to safeguard the health of American communities. 

No individual can do what the EPA can and should do to prevent lead poisoning. The EPA has a duty to listen to the voices of communities like mine — unfortunately, Flint residents are a case study on what our nation must do to avoid catastrophe.

That is why we the people are demanding stronger regulations and enforcement measures to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. We need comprehensive and equitable solutions that leave no one behind. We need this nation to finally listen and act. 

Ella Greene-Moton is president of the American Public Health Association.