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from the water-everywhere-but-not-a-drop-to-drink dept.
From MLive, Months after dire warnings, Flint spills 2 million gallons of raw sewage into river:
The city dumped an estimated 2 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Flint River Sunday, Aug. 18, just months after officials warned wastewater infrastructure was fast approaching a "critical point."
A partial report filed by the city with the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy on Tuesday, Aug. 20, says a "flash flood event" overflowed primary settling tanks at the city's wastewater treatment plant on Beecher Road, sending raw waste onto the ground and into a storm sewer drain that discharges directly to the river....
Earlier this year, the city sought a waiver from the Genesee County Health Department, requesting that it be allowed to skip testing river water for bacteria after sewage spills in cases in which the discharge comes from its retention basin.
From the WSWS (ICFI/SEP), Michigan: Two million gallons of untreated sewage spill into Flint River:
Genesee County issued a public advisory that people should avoid all contact with the Flint River. As of this writing six days later, there are no reports in the press or on government websites that the advisory has been lifted....
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the United States 7 million people on average per year, i.e., a population that would rank as the second largest city in the US, become ill from exposure to raw sewage, and 7 percent of these severely or fatally ill. While some of the illnesses are due to ingestion through drinking water, a majority are the result of external contact, often resulting from municipal spills.
Late Saturday night, over 2.2 inches of rain fell in the Flint area in just a three-hour period....
The Flint River has long been known to be highly polluted due to the unrestrained dumping of toxic waste into it by General Motors for the better part of a century.
On MLive (comments adwalled), user Chukobuk suggested:
Just raise industrial user sewer rates by a factor of ten. What else is GM going to use its vast federal income tax break for from the Tax and Jobs Cut Act? Laying off another 12,000 employees? Oh, sorry, that's the Tax Cut and Jobs Act.
A different failure mode from 2014: Power failure leads to raw sewage in Flint River
See also: 'Damage has been done': Newark water crisis echoes Flint
Previously:
Poisoned Democracy: How an Unelected Official Contaminated Flint's Water to Save Money
Here's How Hard It Will be to Unpoison Flint's Water
3 Officials Charged in Flint Water Crisis; More Arrests Seen
Prosecutor Charges Six Employees in Flint, Michigan Water Investigation
How ZIP Codes Nearly Masked the Lead Problem in Flint
Shigella Outbreak in Flint, Michigan Complicated by Untrusted Water
Lead in US School Water "Disturbing"—Detroit Just Shut Off All Fountains
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ikanreed on Monday August 26 2019, @03:46PM (14 children)
Flint is still under the thumb of the unelected rule of an "Emergency Manager" appointed by Snyder and the attached "Advisory council" who refuse to let them spend money on necessities like... you know keeping infrastructure functioning. The block grant from the federal government for fixing the lead problem can't help the whole rest of the city's infrastructure being nickle and dimed to death.
This is another case where thousands of dollars a year in prevention could have prevented millions per decade clean up costs, and it's a lesson that we're apparently not gonna learn.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by EEMac on Monday August 26 2019, @05:09PM
Look at it from a politician's point of view:
Thousands per year comes out of my budget. making my district poorer.
Millions per decades comes out of big emergency grants from the federal government, enriching my district.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 26 2019, @05:23PM (5 children)
Nope, the lesson our leaders know is: fear. Gotta show everyone how painful it is to fail, the defeat of the Native American was too long ago, too far removed from today's life, we've gotta show 'em that when they don't pay their bills, it's gonna hurt, and hurt, and hurt for a long long time.
Serves those Flint residents right for not controlling their elected officials better, not making them stay solvent, hell not ponying up their own cash to prevent the crisis! Now they're gonna serve as an example to everyone else who thinks the Feds will just walk in and save everybody. Nope, nosiree, not on MY watch. Make 'em pay, make 'em pull themselves up by their own busted bootstraps, no matter how long it takes. Fear of becoming the next Flint will prevent that from EVER happening again. /s
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @07:37PM (4 children)
This was not an Act of God. It was an act of willful ignorance by elected and appointed officials and their employees. Exactly what is your reasoning that the rest of us should pay for the fuckups of their administration? I'd say loan them the money but make them pay it back. I didn't get to vote for the Detroit or Flint officials, why should I get stuck holding the bag?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @08:41PM
Brown bagging it?
(Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Tuesday August 27 2019, @12:42AM (1 child)
Most disasters can be foreseen at some level. Hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Florida lead to federal disaster aid. So do earthquakes and wildfires in California. They all should have bought insurance and built more robust infrastructure. Economic disasters are not so different.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @02:24PM
Not even remotely the same thing. This was 100% caused by the decisions and choices of the people involved. Natural disaster events are by definition natural disasters. While their impact could and should be mitigated by planning and insuring losses, they cannot be foreseen except at some statistical level. This is no different than your homeowners policy that insures against fires and wind damage.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 27 2019, @02:13PM
You missed the "/s" at the end of the comment, didn't you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @07:00PM (6 children)
Michigan has a Democratic Governor and the City of Flint is pretty much all Democrats. Let's see if they do any better before passing judgement.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday August 26 2019, @07:42PM (3 children)
GP's point is that despite the election, said elected officials aren't actually in control of Flint's government. So trying to place the blame on the people who lack the power to fix the problem is wrong at best, disingenuous at worst.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by dwilson on Tuesday August 27 2019, @12:41AM
That is something that needs to be taught in American public school system, as early as possible and refreshed every year until graduation. Maybe it would re-direct some of the constant bitching and moaning about whichever clown is currently holding the Presidency.
- D
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:27AM (1 child)
So who the hell appointed these unaccountable officials, hmm??
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday August 27 2019, @01:11PM
Rick Snyder, the former governor, who lost his seat in the 2018 election, probably in part for what he did to Flint.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ikanreed on Monday August 26 2019, @07:54PM
Yeah, but here's the thing, the horrible destruction wrought by far right budget hawkery takes decades to fully fix. It's not like putting democrats(who are far from perfect, and often pretty right wing) into office just magically fixes problems overnight.
--Back in June, politically unaffiliated financial manager, when these warnings were issued
Well guess what. They didn't incur debt or raise rates to fix the problem. Yay fiscal responsibility.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @08:56PM
The previous governor for 8 years (2011-2019) was Rick Snyder, a Republican, and he's the one to blame.