We’ve posted several articles and opinions on the long slow story that was and continues to be Flint Michigan’s infamous water failure.
Just out is an Environmental Protection Agency review by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General. Here is an excellent article summarizing the findings.
Suffice it to say, the lesson I want to highlight today is not about relatively simple water chemistry or a front line water supplier’s disregard for what the data is screaming at them, but rather about the oversight role.
Our governmental systems tend to have local governments carry out most of the work. This is as it should be when it comes to providing essential services and responding to problems near their source. Above the local governments are regional and state governments. They typically have made general guidance available to local governments and, much more importantly, specific requirements linked to grant funds and permit conditions. Above them are the federal systems that offer more of the same and provide an essential backstop for when the lower levels of government can’t or won’t do their jobs.
An understandable tension arises when a higher level tries to adjust the actions of a lower level. The lower level becomes resentful and resistant. The higher level often would prefer to wear the “white hat” of helping the lower level, and the “black hat” of raising unwanted awareness of a problem or overseeing enforcement is often uncomfortable. Yet, that is how the system works best. Sure there are nuances such as making a phone call to get the real story before initiating a disciplinary action and notifying responsible officials before responding to media inquiries. But we need this oversight when the data indicates a clear problem.
In a time where the local, state, and federal levels all feel as though they have more responsibilities than people to carry them out, it falls on the managers in these agencies to take stock of what is required. If an agency asks for data, they ought to review or use the data. If the local government sent “up” all they were supposed to, it seems as though review of the data would be helpful and therefore a ”white hat” function. If the upper level doesn’t review it one could easily begin to blame the oversight agency for not doing its job.
And that seems to be part of what the Office of Inspector General is getting at.
— Steve Woods, executive director
Have you ever looked west and seen the stark boundary between forest and grasslands and wondered why it was there or whether it was a permanent feature? This example of an ecotone – a region of transition between two biological communities – is so much a part of what we expect to see as we drive the interstates (a boreal forest up north, prairie out west, and a sliver of deciduous forest separating the two) that it’s even part of our state welcome sign.
Why is this happening now in a time of global temperature rise? 
Remember your first taste of ocean water? In urbanized areas the first flush of meltwater in early March is two-to-three times as salty as ocean water. It’s easy to float in the ocean because salty water is more dense than fresh and sinks to the bottom. In freshwater lakes it does the same thing, where it wipes out the creatures that live near the bottom.
Right now, the lakes most polluted with salt are confined to the metro but as development reaches farther out, more lakes will be threatened. This isn’t a hypothetical argument — some metro lakes already do not meet the standard to be considered “freshwater”, such as Silver Lake in New Brighton. Others, such as Lake Johanna in Arden Hills and Cedar Lake in Minneapolis will follow soon. Many more are safe for now — Harriet in Minneapolis and Owasso, Snail, and Turtle in Shoreview — but without changes to our salt diet, these lakes will suffer the same fate.
She wondered why we would use those in our bathrooms and kitchens, places where we are most exposed to inhaling, ingesting, or absorbing them. In Brazil, cleaning takes place daily with water and either a squeegee or cloth that can be washed and line-dried. Floors have central drains and windows are thrown open to freshen and dry the rooms. And the rooms are clean! I have lived there for weeks on end and never thought twice about whether the housekeeping was adequate.
