Benton Harbor, Michigan, Under Investigation For Handling Of Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water

March 09, 2022

Michigan is once again being investigated for its response or lack thereof to drinking water contamination in one of its most underserved communities, years after a similar saga played out in Flint.

[Federal auditors announced an investigation - of how the government has dealt with lead contamination of drinking water in Benton Harbor, an impoverished, mostly Black city in southwest Michigan," the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported. [The probe by the Environmental Protection Agency`s inspector general follows a petition months ago for federal help from groups that accused local and state governments of dragging their feet after years of high lead readings in the city`s water."

After nearly 6,000 lead-based service lines were identified in the city, federal regulators directed Benton Harbor to make changes to its drinking water treatment process for fear that residents were consuming contaminated water. Late last year, it appeared that city officials were making significant progress in doing so, though they had not replaced the fundamental infrastructure at the root of the problem.

Now, auditors are stepping in to determine where and how federal authorities might speed up Benton Harbor`s attempts to provide safe drinking water to residents. It`s hard to imagine that Michigan could be the home to yet another drinking water crisis as dire as the one that took place in nearby Flint, and the audit appears geared toward preventing that.

[The inspector general`s planned inquiry is `reassuring,` said Cyndi Roper, senior policy advocate with Natural Resources Defense Council," per the Democrat Gazette. [`It`s unthinkable that after the Flint crisis, another majority Black community had to wait for years before emergency action was taken,` she said."

But as residents wait for the results of the audit, any forthcoming changes to the city`s drinking water treatment process, and, ultimately, replacement of outdated infrastructure, they are left unable to drink their tap water.

[The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says its study on Benton Harbor`s tap water shows filters do work to remove lead, but the EPA says residents should follow state health guidance, and still only drink bottled water," per Michigan Radio. [People on Benton Harbor water shouldn`t use their tap water to cook, rinse food, brush their teeth, or mix baby formula."

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