The health and safety problems caused by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, haven’t gone away.
Much of the nation’s attention, however, has.
Clark begins her taut, riveting and comprehensive account in the spring of 2014 when Flint, a city with roughly 99,000 residents, most of them African-American, severed its nearly half-century connection with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and reconnected its water supply with the Flint River itself.
Seemed like a good idea, especially to state and local leaders who insisted that the water that came from the Flint River was safe.
By that same summer, city residents believed otherwise.
The water that came out their showerheads, faucets and hydrants did so in varied shades of brown and orange with “particulates” floating around.
Complaints of foul smells and metallic tastes in the water were soon superseded by reports of skin rashes and hair loss.
The situation got worse – and quickly.
As that fateful summer wore on, residents started buying bottled water for daily use as city officials kept telling them to boil their tap water.
And yet, as Clark points out, “while the lifelong effects of lead poisoning can be mitigated, they can’t be cured.” The neglect of communities, infrastructure and adequate planning that helped create the Flint crisis threatens other American cities.