Flint water crisis: A failure of leadership

 Stan Silverman, Thought Leader on Effective Leadership 

This article originally appeared on January 26, 2016 in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The Flint, Michigan, water quality crises accurately fits the description of a man-made disaster, defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as “deliberate or negligent human actions directly and principally caused [by] one or more identifiable disastrous events.”

There was a complete lack of leadership by Michigan government and regulatory leaders whose actions and inactions caused this disaster. The accountability lies with Governor Rick Snyder and his executive branch staff as well as the leadership and staff of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. These leaders continually told the citizens of Flint that the water used in their homes was safe, even after reported problems with the water’s color, odor and taste. The water in fact, was not safe. The result was that many Flint residents suffered lead poisoning due to high lead levels in their water including children, who are most susceptible to lead exposure.

To reduce costs, in March 2013, Flint’s mayor and its City Council made the decision to switch the long-term source of Flint water from the Detroit water system to the Karegnondi Water Authority, which would build a pipeline to transport water from Lake Huron to Flint. In April 2014, to save $5 million during the remaining two-year period until the completion of the pipeline, Flint switched from Detroit to the Flint River as an interim source of city water.

The water from the Flint River has a high salt content and therefore is very corrosive, causing lead and other heavy metals to leach out of aging pipes delivering water to homes. The addition of an anti-corrosion agent to high salt content water is a well-established and common practice to reduce heavy metal leaching from water system pipes.

The cost of the anti-corrosion agent, had it been added to the Flint River water, would have only been $100 per day. The failure of government and regulatory authorities not to require the addition of the anti-corrosion agent was a gross failure in stewardship and responsibility, which could lead to criminal charges and civil liability.

More than half of the population of Flint is African-American, and nearly half of the city’s population lives below the poverty line. Were the demographics of Flint a factor in the decision to switch to untreated Flint River water, as some individuals are suggesting? If these government and environmental officials experienced the same type of water coming from the faucets in their homes, corrective action would have been demanded and immediately implemented.

It wasn’t until pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha found elevated levels of lead in the blood of Flint children that the Flint water problem was taken seriously. Engineering Professor Marc Edwards and his team from Virginia Tech conducted independent water quality tests and found high lead levels in tap water in homes. Edwards found lead levels in Flint water within some homes to be several orders of magnitude higher than what was considered acceptable. There is no threshold level of lead considered to be completely safe. It is estimated that as many as 12,000 residents of Flint have elevated levels of lead in their bodies. Many of these are children, who will suffer developmental issues and a range of other health problems.

In a Washington Post article dated Jan. 7 headlined, “The poisoning of Flint,” columnist Katrina vanden Heuvel writes, “When complaints persisted, officials assured citizens that the water was safe to drink, repeatedly disregarding clear evidence that it wasn’t. But when elevated levels of lead showed up in children’s blood this past fall, the government was forced to admit there was a problem. Snyder’s then chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, acknowledged the administration’s deplorable response in a July 2015 email, writing, ‘These folks are scared and worried about the health impacts and they are basically getting blown off by us (as a state, we’re just not sympathizing with their plight).’”

Flint water is again being sourced from Detroit until the pipeline from Lake Huron is completed. However, lead still may leach from the damaged water system pipes. The National Guard is distributing bottled water to Flint residents, and will do so for some time. The magnitude of the repairs needed for the Flint water system is as yet unknown.

Snyder declared a state of emergency in Flint on Jan. 5. He has also acknowledged his role in this crisis. “Accountability” and “austerity” has been Snyder’s political narrative. Was austerity partly to blame for the Flint water crisis? Due to the weak financial condition of the city, Snyder had appointed a series of emergency managers to oversee the finances of Flint, and it was one of these emergency financial managers that signed off on the switch to Flint River water. Governor Snyder is a Republican and his inattention and lack of action to protect the residents of Flint will be raised as an issue by the Democrats in the upcoming presidential campaign.

The Flint Advisory Task Force appointed by Snyder to investigate the crisis has stated, “Throughout 2015, as the public raised concerns and as independent studies and testing were conducted and brought to the attention of … [Michigan Department of Environmental Quality], the agency’s response was often one of aggressive dismissal, belittlement, and attempts to discredit these efforts and the individuals involved. …We find both the tone and substance of many MDEQ public statements to be completely unacceptable.”

As can be expected, there is much finger pointing as to who is to blame. After the investigation is complete, many individuals need to be held accountable for their role. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant has announced his resignation, as has MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel. Susan Hedman, U.S. EPA Region 5 administrator, also announced her resignation. There are many who are calling for the resignation of Governor Snyder.

You always want to hire, appoint or elect people with good critical judgment, who will do the right thing. The leadership of the MDEQ did not meet this standard, and neither did the governor of Michigan and his executive branch staff. In the future, why should the citizens of Flint believe anything they are told by their governmental leaders? They have lost their credibility.

Tone at the top and institutional culture play a critical role in the success of any organization. Michigan government and regulatory leaders were horribly lacking in both. They did not fulfill their responsibility – protecting the people of their state.

Whether a government or regulatory leader, the CEO of a company or head of a nonprofit organization, these leader’s constituents – the public, employees or stockholders, are counting on them to do the right thing. The Flint, Michigan water crisis is a lesson in how not to act as a leader.

Stanley W. Silverman is the founder and CEO of Silverman Leadership. He is a writer and speaker, advising C-suite executives about issues and on cultivating a leadership culture within their organizations. Stan is Vice Chairman of the Board of Drexel University and a director of Friends Select School and Faith in the Future. He is the former President and CEO of PQ Corporation. Follow: @StanSilverman. Connect: [email protected]. Website: www.SilvermanLeadership.com

Article originally posted in the Philadelphia Business Journal.