Lead, a metal poison which causes developmental problems in 600,000 children annually. Often, only foreign countries are exposed to lead because  developed nations such as America  attempt to eradicate exposure to this toxin and monitor lead poisoning closely.

Flint, Michigan is different though. After officials decided to switch from Detroit to Flint River water for financial reasons, the citizens started noticing not so subtle hints from the water that flowed from their taps and showers.

One day the water was tinted green. Another day it smelled like the sewer. Even as signs emerged about the toxic contents of Flint’s water supply, both the city and state ignored the people’s desperate cries and constant worries about water quality, until the situation went too far.

“What did I tell you about that water?” Jenaya McDonald asks her six year old son.

“It’s poison,” he answers.

In 2013, Flint decided that to save money on water which was becoming increasingly expensive. Following the discovery of toxins in the water, Rick Snyder, governor of Michigan, declared a state of financial emergency in Flint, and appointed emergency manager Ed Kurtz for the situation.

The city decided to switch to the KWA, a project that would connect Flint directly with Lake Huron and cheaper water. The new pipeline was to be finished in 2016.

Flint would start getting their new water from the KWA project starting in 2016, but there was a two year gap where they didn’t have a water source. It was in 2014, when they would stop getting water from Detroit, and in 2016, they would start getting the water from the KWA project and soon the idea came up that Flint would draw water from the Flint River which was right in their city.

At first it seemed like a terrific idea. Flint had water for 2014 to 2016, and to top it off, the Flint River was right in their backyards. How could it ever go wrong? What Flint didn’t realize is that the high concentration of chloride ions in the Flint water would cause tens of thousands of children to become ill with lead poisoning.

On April 25^th, 2014, Flint changed to the Flint River as a water source. No vote, no city council, only the emergency manager, one man, had to sign a paper to put this Flint River water in the pipes of 100,000 citizens.

Very shortly after they changed water, citizens started noticing weird colors, an off taste, and strange smells in the liquid that came out of their taps.

“When they changed, almost immediately the taste, the odor, the color were different,” says Jackie Pemberton, a citizen of Flint.

Very soon after the water switch General Motors (GM) switched water because they claimed that the water was corroding and damaging engine parts. The very same water that citizens consumed was actually corroding metal.

Soon, citizens started catching on. After many cases of rashes, hair loss, and other illnesses, they decided to call the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Tests in the Flint water showed that it had 13,200 parts per billion in lead, with the EPA regulation level only fifteen. Jerry Ambrose, the current emergency officer refused to do anything, saying that switching back to Detroit water would bankrupt the city.

Miguel Torel, EPA member, sent tests back to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) saying that the Flint water was untreated for corrosion. The DEQ had never had a plan for treating the Flint water. The lack of safeguards was never heard of in America. The DEQ dismissed Torel as a rogue employee, saying that the data was wrong.

Flint city now made up its own test results, faking data to prove that the water was drinkable, and disqualifying citizen data.

But soon, Snyder’s chief of staff started noticing Flint, and doctors went to Flint to conduct blood tests. Lead had doubled in the children’s bloodstream. Finally a state of public health emergency was announced at the end of 2015, and the federal government rushed in to solve the problem, switching the water source back to Detroit

There have been many suspicions for why the DEQ and the Michigan government ignored earlier warnings of water poisoning. Some say it is a racial crime, as the city is home to a mostly black population. But most likely it was a waiting game. The DEQ knew that Flint would get Lake Huron water in 2016, so they decided not to pay attention to Flint until then, and just wait. One thing is sure for citizens though. “We still don’t drink the water,” says Lee Walters, who moved away from Flint. “I will never again drink from a water source because I’m told to. Never again.”