From 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 18 in 303 International Center, Michigan State University will host a panel to discuss the Flint water crisis, featuring experts in environmental history and water access and quality, along with two of the major Flint community organizers advocating safe water for Flint residents.
In March 2013, the Flint city council voted to switch from Detroit water to join the Karegnondi Water Authority, a pipeline project designed to deliver water from Lake Huron. When that project was delayed, the Flint River was designated as the new water source.
The switch was completed in April 2014, and serious questions about the water’s safety began to surface. Following resistance from city and state representatives to address the issue, activists Melissa Mays and Claire McClinton helped lead the movement to advocate for EPA intervention and safe drinking water for Flint residents.
The panel will include:
- Jennifer Carrera (Department of Sociology/Environmental Science and Policy Program) is part of the MSU campus-wide Global Water Initiative. Her research focuses on environmental justice issues of access to clean water and sanitation in low-income communities domestically and internationally.
- Sara Fingal (Department of History/Lyman Briggs College) specializes in environmental history, 20th century U.S. history, the history of coastal zone management, water resources, environmental politics, policy and planning and U.S. social movements.
- Susan Masten (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) researches chemical agents to treat soil and water contaminated with hazardous organic chemicals. She has been working extensively to develop water treatment technologies that are more effective and suitable for use in decentralized water treatment systems. She’s currently conducting research on Flint water samples for disinfection byproducts.
- Melissa Mays is a founder of the citizen advocacy group Water You Fighting For. In August of 2015, WYFF distributed 300 test kits to households and worked with a volunteer team of research scientists and graduate students to determine if there were toxic lead concentrations in the city water supply.
- Claire McClinton is a community activist advocating for safe drinking water for Flint residents. She works with the Democracy Defense League, the Michigan Poverty Roundtable and Stand Up for Democracy. Along with Mays and other activists, she petitioned the EPA in October 2015 to ensure safe water for Flint residents.
The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Gender in Global Context, Gender Justice and Environmental Change, Department of Community Sustainability, Lyman Briggs College, Environmental Science and Policy Program and Project 60/50 at MSU.
For more information on the panel discussion, contact the GenCen office at (517) 353-5040 or email gencen@msu.edu.