After the news their water supply is contaminated with lead and they would have to drink bottled water and use water filters in their homes, the residents of Flint, Michigan, are now learning of an outbreak of Legionnaires disease, a water-borne illness that can be fatal.
This is the last thing people in that economically depressed city of 100,000 residents need. Nearly half of the city’s inhabitants live below the poverty line.
The problem began when the state of Michigan decided to save money by changing the source of the city’s water from Lake Huron to the Flint River in May of last year. Since June, 87 cases of Legionnaires disease have been reported, ten of them fatal.
That’s a spike over the typical 13 cases a year. Legionnaire’s is contracted by breathing contaminated water mist that leads to a respiratory infection. It is not contagious. Symptoms include a cough, fever and chills.
Shortly after the switch in water sources, Flint residents began to complain that the water smelled bad, tasted strange and was discolored. Not long after that, doctors detected elevated lead levels in children.
It appears the problem stemmed from corrosion in the water pipes. City officials were supposed to treat the water to prevent the corrosion, but apparently that didn’t happen. Now an investigation is underway to determine whether city, county and state officials knew the water was not being treated and that not treating it posed a community health hazard.
Meanwhile, the city of Flint switched their water source back to Lake Huron. The National Guard has been called in to Flint. They are distributing bottled water and home water filters to Red Cross volunteers, who are going door-to-door in the cold weather, handing out the water, filters and water testing kits.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the governor of Michigan, the state government and the city of Flint.