1. Define the following as used in the article: contamination, preliminary, injunction.

2. Describe the preliminary injunction Judge Lawson issued.

3. For what reason did the judge side with the plaintiffs?

4. How did the judge explain his decision?

5. a) What is the population of Flint? How many households are there in the city?
b) How much does Flint’s interim chief financial officer say delivering water to residents’ homes will cost the city?
c) CHALLENGE: How much could it cost the city per person to deliver water to their homes if the chief financial officer’s estimate is accurate?

6. How is the city now addressing the lead contamination problem?

7. The contaminated water was discovered TWO YEARS ago. The majority of residents in Flint are Democrats. The former and current mayor are Democrats. The governor of Michigan is a Republican. The U.S. Department of Environmental Protection is run by Democratic President Obama’s appointees.

The city mismanaged funds so switched to the river as a water source to save money. Flint’s water became contaminated after the city began using the Flint River as its water source in April 2014 and failed to add chemicals to prevent the corrosion of aging pipes and plumbing fixtures that began leaking lead into the drinking water. Residents were told in October 2015 that the city water was unsafe to drink.

Why do you think the pipes in Flint still haven’t been replaced?  Is this a city/state problem, or should the federal government use federal tax dollars to fund the replacement of all of Flint’s water pipes? Explain your answers.

[We were curious to know how much it would cost to replace all of Flint’s water pipes and why this hasn’t been done already. Read a June 2016 Detroit Free Press article.