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Was Obama-Biden govt responsible for Flint Water crisis? POTUS seeks apology as Internet says, 'Trump's right'

In 2014, the city switched to the Flint River as a water source and soon the residents claimed changes to the water's color, smell and taste

On Saturday, October 31, former president Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden were on the campaign trail in Michigan – Flint and Detroit. Obama said in Flint, as reported by CNN, “Joe Biden is my brother. I love Joe Biden. And he will be a great president.” He also said that Biden “made me a better president”.

Obama went on to say, “He has got the character and the experience to make us a better country. And he and Kamala (Harris) are going to be in the fight, not for themselves, but for every single one of us. And we sure can't say that about the President we have got right now.”

President Donald Trump, on the other hand, tweeted, “Biden & Obama owe a massive apology to the People of Flint. The water was poisoned on their watch. Not only did they fail them, Biden proudly accepted the endorsement of disastrous Gov Rick Snyder! Unlike Biden, I will always stand with the People of the Great State of MICHIGAN!”

People soon started discussing about Flint on Twitter. One questioned Trump and said, “Did 230,000 people lose their lives as a result of anything that Obama and Biden failed to do? Did a million more suffer debilitating lung and organ damage? Oh, no! That guy was you!!! Suddenly you care about Flint when you have removed protections that will cause more Flints!” Another user concurred, “And What has the Trump Administration Done in FOUR YEARS to HELP Flint, MI with their water poisoning?  Haven't heard a PEEP. In FOUR Years.” One tweeted, “What are you actually doing to provide Flint residents with clean water?  You've had 4 years already to do it if you cared.”

Another commented, “Flint still doesn't have clean drinking water do not get distracted by Barack's clean three pointer.” One tweet read, “This is actually the 1 time I agree with a Trump Tweet. If you don't know the story Then Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 will explain the Poisoned Water in Flint And Obama's stunt.” Another quipped, “Did @JoeBiden and @POTUS44 do anything to help the people and the water in Flint Michigan ?#FlintMichigan ##FlintWaterCrisis .. why do we trust @JoeBiden?” "Trump is right about Flint and Democrats," said another user.

What is Flint water crisis?

In 2011, the state of Michigan took over Flint's finances after an audit projected a $25 million deficit. CNN explains that to address the water fund shortage, the city announced that a new pipeline would be built to deliver water from Lake Huron to Flint. In 2014, while the pipeline was under construction, they switched to the Flint River as a water source. And soon, the residents claimed changes to the water's color, smell and taste. The tests in 2015 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Virginia Tech showed dangerous levels of lead in the water at residents' homes.

In January 2016, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency in Genesee County, of which Flint is the major population center. And thereafter, former president Obama had declared a federal state of emergency, authorizing additional help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The CNN report states a class-action lawsuit accused that the state wasn't treating the water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. Due to this, the water was eroding the iron water mains, turning the water brown. Additionally, about half of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead and because the water wasn't properly treated, lead began leaking into the water supply, in addition to the iron.

More than a dozen lawsuits, including several additional class-action suits, were filed against Michigan and the city of Flint, as well as various state and city officials and employees who had a hand in the decision to switch the source of the drinking water and people who were in charge of monitoring water quality.

As reported by MLive in August, children 6 years old and younger during the Flint water crisis are the biggest potential beneficiaries of a $600-million settlement with the state of Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a few details of the deal, which would set up a claims process for Flint residents affected by lead or bacteria in their water. “Several things need to happen before this agreement can be finalized and because of those steps, many of the details must remain confidential for the time being,” Nessel said in a video statement released by her office.

Around 80 percent of the settlement would be paid to children who were younger than 18 when they were first exposed to Flint River water, which contained elevated levels of lead and bacteria in 2014 and 2015. While Flint children will be eligible to recover part of the settlement without proof of personal injury, adults will be eligible to get compensation only with proof of personal injury. “What happened in Flint should have never happened, and financial compensation with this settlement is just one of the many ways we can continue to show our support for the city of Flint and its families,” Whitmer said in a statement.

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.