All language subtitles for Flint.2020.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

This film contains
some strong language

WOMAN: Now, we come in peace

with the intent to increase
and restore hope for the hopeless,

and love is the focus,

I pray that this message will reach
far beyond the clouds, God.

We need you involved now.

Your spirit is needed,
so this isn't repeated.

Why is it like this, a crisis?

I cry with my white fist lifted
for my brothers and sisters.

These little kids
are becoming statistics.

Honestly, I'm questioning
if this was intended.

It has been five decades since Flint
used the river for drinking water.

Today, they open up the gates
to start that process again.

Using river water for drinking water
brings a unique set of challenges.

But the city of Flint is doing many
things to make sure this water meets

the expectations of those who live
in the city.

ALL: Three, two, one.

Here's to the plant.
To the plant. Hear, hear!

REPORTER: Flint residents have been
dealing with a mountain of trouble

since the city began pumping
water from the Flint River.

I don't trust it.

Residents in some parts
of Flint distrustful

of what is coming out of their taps.

This is the story
of what happens next.

No, it's my ball.

I'm looping in
all of these shots.

All the water hydrants in
the neighbourhood, all running,

full blast, 24/7,

and the water, completely brown.

And that's when I really realised
that something was wrong.

Can you beat me?

Huh?

Liza, you're on my team.

Hey, hey, hey.

Hey, how's it going?
They're kicking my butt.

Our 12-year-old son, Jeremiah.

I got him.

Oh, see, I told you.

It started off with the skin rashes
and the itching.

What looked like chickenpox.

I know it's due to the water,

because he's never had
these issues before,

and we've never had such serious
health problems before.

I've been in and out of hospitals.

And then, these bumps started
appearing all over my left arm.

Once it happened, we just stopped,

and started... went to baby wipes.

Oh, baby wipes.

We have to... have to manage.

REPORTER: ..have been protesting
about the water problems in Flint...

They go from being high-energy,

wanting to do things,
to just wanting to sleep.

Go grab your jacket.
Look in the hallway.

REPORTER: Residents have been
complaining about the quality

of their water for months.

Then lay down
and do nothing at all.

TV: Quite disgusting.

Their personalities have changed.

And ever since we started drinking
the water, it has gotten worse.

HE SNIFFS

As a mother...

..it breaks my heart,

because there's nothing I can do.

I want to go sit in the house.

Do you need a little bit more water?

Now, we have it.

Uh-oh, you're wasting more.

Right here.

Oh, that's cold!

We need more, Mom.

We've got to heat the water up,

extra energy that I have to pay for.

MICROWAVE BEEPS

BOTH: Two, one.

HE MIMICS BEEPING

Go in there.
It's really hot, hot, hot.

You've got to get a lather.

I will never trust the water.

For months, the residents of Flint
are told their water may look bad,

but it's perfectly safe,

by the very environmental agencies
who were supposed to protect them.

My family and I drink the water
every day.

It's your standard tap water.

You know, you taste a little bit
of the chlorine.

We have to do some work
on our water treatment plant.

And that'll save us some money,
which, in the long term...

You're killing us! Sir!

I'm not killing anybody.

I think people feel that
their bodies and their lives

and their wellbeing
is being compromised.

I get in the shower and...
Like she does. Excuse me.

There you go. On her back.

You going to kill me and my husband?

What you going to do?

I'm afraid to use the water
in my home.

I'm afraid to go into my bathroom
and take a shower.

The Flint River causes
General Motors' car parts to rust.

It was one thing after another.

They were treating the water
before filtering it,

which caused them to have to use
more chlorine.

GM says those higher chlorine levels
create some sort of corrosion.

They did the news broadcast,
and I was like,

"If it's corroding parts,
then what is it doing to us?"

It's gone. Yeah.

GIRL SCREECHES

Yeah, she's trying

to be really helpful here.

But these are the five-gallon ones
that we have to use.

BOTTLE GURGLES

I'm extremely upset.

They're literally messing
with our children's lives.

OK, then, I'll match that.

SHE LAUGHS

Yellow. Yellow? Yellow.

Uno. Where's your piece?

No, uno. Oh, you did...

You've got to pick up the cards.

SHE LAUGHS

He got you.

I keep the door closed and I keep
the desk in front of the door.

I've not used it since they did
the switch to the Flint River.

So, this was my getaway...

..at home.

And now it's not.

There's nothing more fundamental
to your life than water.

And for that to be what can actually
hurt you, cripple you or kill you

is just something that
you could never get over.

RADIO PRESENTER: Flint's news on
1470 WFNT.

Dan Foley here with you.

We've got a lot of guests
we're going to talk to.

Dan Foley, Sherman Mays.

The political aspect of it,
people are swooping in here.

You get this crisis of trust.

And the question is, who do
you trust and what do you turn to?

We're going to play a little bit
of this and we'll come back.

No, I don't need the last break.

I love my job.
I love what I do here.

I've been here almost 20 years.

There's a certain toughness.

There's an attitude.

Flint courage, Flint love.

Bravery, bones.

Every resident of Flint,
we are soldiers.

And you root for Flint.

Obviously, huge, huge problems.

There's challenges
for Flint, absolutely.

You've got a shrinking city,

you've got a tax base
that's just destroyed.

There's not a lot of money
in the city of Flint.

You hate to see what it's become.

Oh, Flint high, Flint strong,
Flint proud.

But this city was
the Silicon Valley of the day.

It's amazing, the history in Flint.

ARCHIVE: Here's the very first
GM car.

Giant assembly plants -
the great producing units

of the nation's mightiest
manufacturing enterprise await.

New wealth flourishes,
and new prosperity grows.

Booming - richest city
in the country...

The whole city rocking -
Flint, Michigan,

throws a birthday party...

50 million General Motors cars...

America says, "Now I know
why people love Flint!"

So, the population peaked
at about 190,000 in the 1970s

and about 80,000 people
worked in the shops there.

General Motors confirmed today
it is going to close plants

employing almost 30,000 workers.

By 2010, the population
is cut in half

and only 8,000 are still
working for GM,

less than 10% of what it was.

According to the FBI,

Flint now has the highest
violent crime rate in America.

The city enters a period
of wrenching economic decline.

I, Richard D Snyder,
do solemnly swear

to uphold the Constitution
of the United States,

in the office of governor.

Promising to turn things around,

a new governor, Rick Snyder, pledges
to run Michigan like a business.

The old ways don't work.

I'm an accountant and your governor.

I've found I can help more people
when the numbers add up.

The governor strips the Flint City
Council of its powers,

and his team makes deep cuts
to police, fire protection

and other public services.

Our city is gripped
by a spirit of hopelessness.

People are saying, "I have
no voice, I have no democracy."

What's more important?

What's more valuable?

Is it the budget,
or is it your citizens?

Now we're talking about cutting
police and fire.

Then what?

Do we close the doors on the city?

We're on the road to recovery
for every Michigander.

You might not feel it yet,
but you will soon.

To save more money,
the state also forces the city

to stop using water
from the Great Lakes...

..and instead,
switch to the Flint River.

Here's to Flint! Hear, hear!

The change was made
to save $5 million.

Oh, wow.

So you'll be able to see
along the wall how low -

you can see the water lines,
and how low the river is.

You can look right down
to the bottom and see car parts,

tyres, shopping carts.

You shouldn't be able to.

Everything that's just been thrown
in there because the Flint River

has been a dumping site
for 100 years.

Half the time, you walk down the
river, you find a body floating.

The animals that go drink from it,
they die.

So the thought that we would
actually be drinking this,

most of us just thought
it was a joke.

Flip the switch
and run the water on warm,

and then tell me
if anything is discoloured. OK.

Thank you. Love you.

So, here is
Water You Fighting For?

What we do is we collect news
articles, scientific research,

anything that's happening, videos...

Watch what comes
out of my drinking tap.

Some of our preliminary research,

this is just some of the things
that people have sent us.

I want to know where were
the trouble areas in the city.

The red stars are people
that have had medical issues -

hair loss, rashes,
bad colour and odour.

So if they checked off all those on
the sheets, we put the stars on.

I'm grateful for you guys
to get out on the front line

and do the political work
and investigative work.

My husband designed
these door hangers.

Basically says, "Please be advised,
we're here to help us help you."

What do we want? Clean water!
When do we want it? Now!

Flint lives matter!
Flint lives matter!

Fix our pipes! Fix our pipes!

We have come to pray -

broken spirits, broken lives.

See what happens when you elect
a businessman to run the state!

He doesn't care about the people
that he hurts.

He doesn't care about the lives
he affects!

Enough is enough!

We want our water fixed now!

Taking matters into their own hands,

residents organise their own
city-wide water testing

with the help of
Professor Marc Edwards,

a highly decorated scientist
from Virginia Tech University.

Do you have pictures of those
at all?

Pull out the data for these.

He made his reputation uncovering
a water contamination scandal

in Washington DC.

We're one of the few labs
in the country, a CSI of plumbing,

if you will, that solves
people's problems

that they experience
in their houses,

and it's proving to be the research
frontier of the 21st century.

Can you do that? Look straight at
the camera. Come here.

Hold still.

We're a pretty normal
family of five.

My husband and I have been married
for 19 and a half years,

and we have three amazing sons,
Caleb, Christian and Cole.

And we do normal things.

HEAVY METAL MUSIC

I am a promoter.

I manage bands. One actually
practises in the house.

In that same general vicinity, you
will see an autographed guitar.

So make sure you get your tickets

because that is a one...
That guitar one...

One of a kind!
I'm not even drinking yet!

One of a kind guitar!
Speaking of drinking,

I think I should get started,
so should you,

but right now, I want you guys
to give it up for Portals!

Thank you, Melissa!

OK, will you put these
under the sink? Give those to Dad,

and then put this up in the cabinet
for me, please.

Thank you.

We have a government state
not listening to us,

so we are testing
300 people's homes.

This photo is awesome.

This is Virginia Tech.

They have students over in Virginia
that are sending us 300 test kits.

They're sending us the bottles.

Next week, we're going to test
people's homes, and we are going

to get accurate answers
for copper and lead.

Everything you're going to need
to do the sampling

is in the sampling kit box
that you receive.

And let that first litre fill up.

When it's done,
I'll take note of the time,

and set them all aside

and let the tap run for 45 seconds.

When we started this, we didn't know
what we'd find, but we had to act.

I mean, children literally,
I felt, were unprotected...

..by the law.

By the agencies
who are paid to protect them.

This is a bottle
we put the water in.

We walked them through and we sent
everybody the YouTube link.

It's time to repackage them
to send them back to Virginia Tech.

Do you need someone to pick it up?

OK, where are you located?

We're going to send them
to Virginia Tech.

Seal it up...

Everyone's complaining,
why is my water red?

Why does my water taste bad?

Yeah, we've got an outsider,
ain't no politics in it, you know?

He has no reason to come in here
and tell us a story.

This is Marc you're talking about?
Right. So I was like, "Great!"

We've got an outsider doing it,

and everybody kind of was looking
for somebody to tell the truth.

Volunteers deliver hundreds
of water sampling kits

to homes throughout the city.

Should be the first left
after Port Street...

I've been here since I was two,
and I'm 66.

This is it! Yup!

What kind of water does he drink?
I give him bottled water.

I mean, it's just heart wrenching.

It's like, "What?! Are you serious?"

People are going through a lot
with this water.

In just six weeks, the volunteers
collected ten times as many samples

as the state government tested
in the previous six months.

All the bottles are being shipped
back to the lab this week

and we should have the results
next week.

Over 585 volunteers,
we got 277 tests back.

This is what America is about.

The people do rule,
and you are proving that.

We have people with
158 parts per million lead...

Melissa was just incredible.

She was always there,
front and centre, truly heroic.

This is a collaboration
between people who are affected

by the water and scientists
who can come and say,

"No, this is not right.

"They're telling you things
that aren't true."

90% return rate.

I've never heard anything like it.

In fact, I would have bet money
to say it wouldn't be possible.

30... Double check,
triple check everything.

OK, so you're here
for the press conference.

We're going to be
setting up over here.

So if you want to be on camera,
go that way!

Everybody, thank you for coming. I'm
Melissa from Water You Fighting For?

Today is a huge, huge day
for the water fight in Flint.

This is what...

This is what some of the water
across the city looks like.

I've sampled water personally
from people's homes.

It looks like this.

This is occurring because
the water is too corrosive.

It has too much salt in it.

And there was no plan
to control the corrosion.

Flint is the only city in America
that I'm aware of

who does not have
a corrosion control plan in place

to stop this kind of problem.

So, on the basis of the sampling
that Virginia Tech conducted

in collaboration
with Flint residents,

we estimate that the water
in about 5,000 Flint homes

is over standards set by
the World Health Organization

for lead in water.

It's a tragedy, it's outrageous,

and somebody needs to go to prison!

When you see your child's health
go down so drastically...

..it affects you,

because there's nothing
you can do.

And we need help.

Basically, the bottom line is,

stop trying to come up with ways
to hide the lead.

Lead exposure has lifelong cognitive
and behavioural consequences

that you do not see right away.

So when paediatricians hear "lead",
they freak out.

Lead is one of the most damning
things you can do to a child.

How will you know it was lead?

If they send it out to a lab.

Hopefully, that's not going
to be the case for you.

Aah!

I needed to find out if that lead in
water was getting into the bodies

of our children.

I right away contacted
our research department

and we found the exact same thing.

Our elevated blood lead levels
were in the exact same locations

where the water lead levels from the
Virginia Tech group were increased,

so it implicated
that it was the water as a source.

I just had a physical gut reaction

that this is so bad.

A new study is showing an increased
level of lead in young children.

For kids less than five years
of age, for all of Flint,

there was an almost doubling
of the percentage

of kids with elevated
blood lead levels.

I never in my life thought
that in Michigan,

you would go through something
like this.

The results shock Flint,

and then all of America.

Growing outrage
in Flint, Michigan...

Flint, Michigan...

..where water has been poisoned
with lead...

Residents have fought for
themselves...

Federal, state and local agencies
all reportedly had evidence

the water was bad...

The people of Flint did not
bring this on themselves.

Through no fault of their own,

they were poisoned
by their state's government.

That's what settles into the bottom.

The water will actually get clear
when you let it sit

and all of it will settle to the
bottom, and then you shake it up.

And you get this
out of the kitchen taps.

13,000 parts per billion lead -

I mean, hazardous waste
is defined as

anything over 5,000 parts
per billion.

So her children were literally
taking a bath in hazardous waste.

The river water is so corrosive,
it tears off the protective layer

from inside of Flint's lead pipes.

It sends toxic particles
into the drinking water supply,

poisoning tens of thousands
of people.

It's like sewage water.

Yeah, it's not very healthy-looking,
is it?

Lead crosses your blood brain
barrier. It's a neurotoxin.

It causes irreversible brain damage.

So detecting it in children
is too late.

It is that canary in the coal mine.
It's already too late.

We have just altered
the life course trajectory

of an entire generation of
Flint children.

Despite his earlier claims
that Flint River water is safe,

Governor Snyder is forced
to allow the city

to use water
from the Great Lakes once again.

Yesterday afternoon, we had a
technical advisory council meeting.

I'm in full support of a return to
the Great Lakes Water Authority.

We believe, based on
the technical recommendations,

it will be better for the citizens
of Flint in terms of public safety,

which is our paramount concern.

CHEERING

The first response I feel
is victory.

Victory because, you know what?

We gave them the science.

We didn't stop fighting,
and they had to make the change.

The people of Flint are assured
the water crisis is all but over.

While this is a victory,

we need to still make sure

that we remain on message,

and we remain in the fight,

because it's that thing where it's
like they give you a little bone

and then they hope you're going
to be happy with that bone.

I see you have your water filter
there from Governor Snyder.

Do you know how to use it?
I'll open the box up...

I've still got to pay
a $207 water bill this month.

I don't know. I guess I'll have
to read the instructions.

And you do have to buy
replacements for these.

They say you're not going to
drink it, but if you haven't got

any money, can't buy no water,
what are you going to do?

'Governor Rick Snyder and his wife
now drinking filtered water

'from Flint...'
'For the next 30 days.'

I don't want this to be viewed
as a gimmick kind of thing.

This is something serious to me.

Even though the river
is no longer being used,

the drinking water
in many Flint homes

continues to show high levels
of lead.

A couple of weeks ago,
I saw a thing on TV

about, you should get
your water tested.

The water levels that have been
tested were now online.

So I went to
MichiganGov/FlintWater.

The very, very last one,
as I scrolled down,

there was mine
at the bottom of the page.

My lead - 5,447.

We didn't really have a lot
of discoloration in the water,

so it was very surprising
to find out that

my water is one of the worst
in Flint.

"The Virginia Tech Department
of Civil Environmental Engineering

"has completed a lead analysis
of your tap water sample.

"The first drawn was 7.2,

"and the next one was 1,051."

Oh, gosh.

According to Federal guidelines,
lead levels in drinking water

over 15 parts per billion
are deemed dangerous.

The lead levels in this house
are 70 times higher.

They explained that I was not
supposed to, er,

you know, brush my teeth with it,
or anything like that, you know?

Don't drink the water in here.

You know, it's water!

This is the second worst house in
terms of lead in the city of Flint.

In science, you learn from
studying extremes,

like, why is there a problem here?

So we're going to pull out
her pipes.

Then we'll take the pipes home,
back to our lab.

We'll cut them open
and try to see what went wrong -

why is there so much lead?

Is there something about living
in a remote area that kind of helps

you deal with all this?

No question. It's a refuge,

and it's also something
that gives you more appreciation

for people than perhaps you have
when we lived in the cities.

You know, Virginia Tech's
a land-grant institution.

We have a very
service oriented mission,

and I think that's one of
the reasons they've tolerated me

as long as they have,

because our motto is "Ut Prosim",

and that means "That I May Serve".

And to some extent, all of
the trouble I've gotten into

has exemplified that motto.

So these are the front pages

with the residents, and we really
put ourselves out there.

The Washington Post article.

This is an example
of a lead pipe from Flint.

This lead pipe would last probably
3,000 or 4,000 years.

It was legally required that if
a customer wanted to connect

to the water main, they had
to use lead, because it protected

the city's interest -
it would not leak.

Thus, lead's reputation
as a great plumbing material,

except for the drawback
that it poisons people

and causes foetal death
and miscarriages.

You see that coming out there?
That's lead rust.

That's enough lead

to cause lead poisoning
in more than 3,000 children.

Though Flint has
the worst poverty rate

of any city in the United States,

residents continue to pay
the nation's highest water bills.

So I have to get in line in a minute
here and pay for my poison.

You grow up in America thinking
that this is the land of the free

and the brave, and find out that
that's totally not true.

If the state finds out
that you have kids in your home

and you don't pay your water bill,

then they start harassing you

because you don't have
running water in the home.

They do anything and everything
to make it the citizens' fault,

even using your own children
against you.

So, out of fear, we pay for it.

Volunteers try to fill the gap
in the governor's response

to the crisis.

A non-profit organisation, that's
what we come in as, you know?

It's our job and our duty to come
up here and help them,

no matter what colour or race,
we come up here,

and we've still got water that
we collected that we haven't even
brought up here yet.

What a wonderful time of year
to be in Michigan

with our friends and families.

We're fortunate to live in such
a wonderful state and nation.

We're thankful
for our family and friends,

our health, and so much more.

Happy holidays, Michigan.

Two weeks after
his Christmas message,

Governor Snyder finally agrees to
provide one case of bottled water

a day to each Flint family.

Is there any way that we can get
more than one?

My daughter had a rash
on the back of her neck.

My youngest daughter.
She's two years old.

She just... She's been sick,

and we've been taking her
to the hospital.

Thank you.

Oh, yes, OK.

I think we shouldn't have to go
to them to pick it up.

What about the people
who don't have transportation?

You know, they have to get on the
bus, come down here, pick up water.

There's snow!

They have a sign out that says
one per household, one per day.

If you have six children

and you're only giving out
one case of 24,

how does that help? Especially
if you're making formula.

I have never gotten more than one
case of water from this location.

Ever. The camera does make
a lot of difference.

Big time.

So, thank you.

Hi, how are you doing?

I volunteer with
Michigan Faith in Action,

and we're here to see
if you need any water.

You know, you can't boil the water.

I just found that out. I've been
cooking my oatmeal and my grits...

Yeah. ..and my spaghetti.
Lead is not like bacteria,

like E coli. It's metal.

Boiling is actually making it worse,
making it stronger in the water.

Here's some health information
about it.

So with everything, this needs to be
changed every two to three weeks.

Oh, really? Yeah. And you don't
want... Nobody told me that.

This is why we've been
going door to door.

This used to be my dining room.

Some of this is for my family,
and some of this is for the elderly

that I deliver to every two weeks,
to make sure they have water.

We're doing the state's job
for them.

They should be going door to door.

They should be, like,
talking to people

and really, like, assessing, like,
this is the damage.

Hi, how are you?

So, do you have bottled water?

I have one, yeah.
I stopped to pick up.

So when's the last time
you changed your filter?

Um... You're supposed to
change it every two weeks.

Every... Oh, really? Yeah.
Every two weeks? Yeah.

I don't want to discourage people
from being helpful in contributing

to this crisis, because it's great
to see the volunteer efforts,

the outpouring of efforts.

Again, I encourage people
to go to HelpforFlint.com

and look at financial contributions,
because again, much water

is coming in, hopefully we'll get
the water issue addressed.

I do appreciate people
paying their bills.

There's a sewer portion of this bill
and people are using that function.

Governor, have you been into
a Flint home yet?

Have you been into one
Flint home yet, Governor?

Last question.

Governor Snyder. You insist
that the water here in Flint

is safe to drink,
to bathe and shower in.

I wonder why the people
of Flint should trust you?

Filtered water has been determined
to be safe for people to drink,

except for children,
and for pregnant women.

One house last month tested
22,000 parts per billion lead.

Is it safe for them to use
a filter and drink that water?

That would be a particle.

And if it's 22,000,
that's a really big particle.

It turns out there was a problem
with the water filters

Governor Snyder says
will keep people safe.

Many residents just can't get them
to work.

It fell off
a couple of weeks after,

and it won't go back up.

I don't know how to do it.

Thanks for coming.
I know it was rough drive.

I think we've got about 55 faucets
that we want to get done today.

Members of Harold Harrington's
Plumbers' Union

volunteer to do something about it.

The Red Cross called me
because they'd got these filters

being delivered from the state
and a lot of residents

could not install these filters.

So we started doing that.

He needs two filters installed.
He had a stroke.

He's unable to... His hands are
a little wiggly, or whatever.

I'm going to go make sure
they take the test kits with them

and everything else, OK? OK. OK.

However, the lead levels
in many homes are so high,

the filters being handed out
by the state

aren't guaranteed to work.

The Environmental Protection Agency
issues a public health warning.

The EPA has issued an opinion

that says that the toxins

are too high for the filters
to be effective.

They should have known,
all these scientists.

They should have known that

these filters would not...
They should have tested it.

All of my girls, all girls,

are born with all the eggs
they're ever going to have,

reproductive-wise.

Yes?

Yeah?

Yeah.

Lead becomes a part of your bones,

it becomes a part of your tissues,

it becomes a part of your
reproductive system.

I have no idea if this is going
to cause them to have problems

when they're older.

When did you first realise
there was a problem with the water?

My daughter ended up getting sick.

It was just like, bam, out of
control, like from day to night.

She came downstairs,
she looked like a different child.

OK!

Right then,
now your little leggies!

The other horrible end of it,

also, medical communities
are going to be

studying our children,

seeing the effects
of these chemicals

and these heavy metals
have on their bodies,

which makes me absolutely nauseous

because I did not volunteer
my children

to be a part of a medical study.

I did not.

If you take your child
to a paediatrician

and you tell them about this,

all they can do
is shake their head and just say,

"You just have to wait and see
if they have any reactions."

So, I figured macaroni and cheese.

Actually... Dogs.

Bye, honey.

Thank you for somebody answering me.

Come on, person.

We are holding
an informational meeting

for the class action lawsuits.

The state who did this to us

needs to pay
for people's medical expenses.

Not everybody has medical access,
medical insurance,

or the money to pay
for these expenses.

Plus, these kids and these adults

are going to need medical care
for the rest of their lives.

So somebody needs
to pay for that bill.

Oh, my. That's a lot of traffic.
Wonder if it's for us.

It's broken into three lawsuits now,

so there's going to be
three different judges.

So it's in
the County Court of Claims,

as well as the State and Federal.

Unfortunately, we are at capacity
in this particular room,

and we cannot have
more people come in.

Take a notebook and start writing
down everything you can think of

that's changed or different
since April 25th, 2014.

Every doctor's appointment,
every rash, because it'll make it

a lot easier and faster
to get your information together.

Good evening, everyone.
ALL: Good evening!

All right! I want the sound
to reflect the volume of people

that are in this room, because
it is absolutely amazing to us

to have this type of turnout...

APPLAUSE

..for this event.

This is good - it means more
people not drinking the water,

and more people finding out about
their health, and finding out
what their rights are.

Most of you know me.
My name is Attorney Trisha Young.

I was born and raised
right here in Flint.

I live in Flint.

My office is about
two miles up the road,

on the corner of Saginaw and Baker.

The state is providing filters
and the replacement cartridges.

As far as we're concerned,
that's the least the state can do!

It's not about just getting money.

We do want to get some compensation
for our clients

that have been injured.

We believe they deserve
to be compensated, not just

for their personal injury,
but for their property loss,

for the emotional and mental stress
that they've have to deal with,

you know, for providing
and wondering about

the welfare of their children.

So we have formed a dynamic team.

We have been very active
and on the move.

We have already filed
multiple pieces of litigation.

So I'm going to go
to the back of the room.

Do you yourself feel
that we should have

all of the city of Flint's
pipes replaced?

We don't trust what they're saying,
and we want the pipes replaced.

Period.

In response, Flint's new mayor
pledges to replace every lead pipe

in the city, though she has only
a fraction of the money needed.

Mayor, how do you feel, seeing the
first lead line coming out today?

This is the day that we've been
waiting for for a very long time.

So, you know,
the sun is shining on us,

and we couldn't ask
for a better day for,

you know, a wonderful event
like this.

Please move this way.

Well, good afternoon, everybody,
and thank you for coming out today.

This is a great day
for the city of Flint,

and it's a day that we have
been waiting for.

My mission is to totally
get the lead out of Flint.

We need to be focused on a complete
renewal of Flint's water system,

because we owe our residents
something. This is our start.

Done!

APPLAUSE

Into the future we go!

Good job!

Mayor Weaver, extremely happy
to oversee this first job,

acknowledged from the podium that
there's only money at the moment

to do about another 230 of these.

She would like to do about 15,000.

And the money won't be available
to even start really doing

that until October 2016,

so we're looking at October of 2017

before the city of Flint
is really beyond this crisis -

it's been almost two years now.

You have to walk?
Yes, walk or catch the bus.

I prefer that they would deliver
it to everybody's house,

instead of people having to go
pick it up themselves.

That's my grandson.

He's the youngest.

This is what I got him playing in.

Right here - this is what
he's playing in and don't know it.

Sliding on lead.

I mean, giving him a mental
disability right there.

That's what we have
to go through every day,

just for one person to shower.

Ain't no way in the world
one case of water would do.

One week. It's been going on
for over a year,

and this is just one week!

How long is this going to be
in our body before...

..we might die?
You know, if it's irreversible,

how long do we have?

Be honest, we just started
not bathing in it...

After we heard about
the Legionnaires.

That scam. Oh, no,
I do not trust any of them.

I really don't.

Governor Snyder now reveals
a devastating new health crisis

that has been kept secret
for more than a year.

Well, thank you for coming today.

I'm going to share information

that hasn't really been put out
to the public.

Over the course of 2014 and 2015,

we saw a spike in
Legionnaires' disease.

I believe the numbers
for the preceding years before 2014,

we had six cases, 11 cases,

13 cases, and eight cases.

Um, in 2014, we had 45 cases.

It was just the muscle soreness,
respiratory.

I've had pneumonia before.

It didn't feel like the pneumonia
I had before,

but I could tell
my respiratory system

was just seriously compromised.

She was real weak. Very weak.

She couldn't really get
off the couch, much less go to work.

I need an axe
to cut through the ice.

That's the Flint treatment plant,

and the intake's right there.

It's like Chernobyl, or something.

This is like the next best thing
to a time machine,

is recreate the outbreak
in the laboratory

under very well controlled
conditions.

We simulate the distribution,
we simulate the houses,

and we see how the Legionella grows.

What triggered that outbreak
that caused the deaths?

And we're really close.

Marc Edwards and his team
at Virginia Tech conclude

that the outbreak of
Legionnaires' disease was caused

by the switch to the Flint River.

So I get Flint River water shipped
to me, and then I treat it the same

way that you would in
the water treatment process,

and you can see there's a colour
difference, even after treatment.

The trigger was Flint River water
with no corrosion inhibitor,

plus iron, which is a nutrient
that Legionella needs to grow.

Those little, tiny,
microscopic drops of water

can contain Legionella in it.

From Flint, you can see a
substantial amount more colonies.

Most of the time, what it's going
to manifest as is a pneumonia.

This pneumonia would not...
You would not be able to tell

what the bacteria was - it could
look like any other pneumonia -

cough, shortness of breath,
headache.

That's all I have, unless
there's any questions. Thank you.

Because the outbreak
was kept secret,

doctors misdiagnosed dozens
of cases as simple pneumonia.

They knew in March of 2015

that there were spikes
of Legionnaires' cases in Flint,

but they had never told anybody.

If they'd told us, you know,
we would have...

The doctors would have known to
check for that. But they didn't.

They just said they were going
to attribute it to a form

of pneumonia, and that, you know,
they were going to give me

some medication and, you know,
to go back in two weeks.

Nobody told the Flint residents.
It's just like the lead.

They didn't tell us about
that either, and other people
knew about that.

We're in a post-truth world,
and that's what this whole story

is about - is who betrayed whom.

Everyone's betraying everyone -
who can you trust?

There's some folks telling
the truth, there's some folks lying,

and to me, this defines a dark age.

We live in a dark age.

It's defined by not knowing
who you can trust in a society

that runs on trust.

No peace! No justice, no peace!

No justice, no peace!

No justice, no peace! No peace!

No peace!

With fear of the water mounting,

community leaders demand
all of Flint's pipes be replaced

and the governor be held to account.

We're sick, we're tired,
we're broke, we're fed up,

but at the end of this march,
we will all know,

we are not victims, we are fighters!

CHEERING

Never neglect me. Never neglect me!

This is a crime scene.

Somebody lied.

Somebody covered it up.

CHANTING

Flint lives matter!

What do we want? Fresh water!
When do we want it? Now!

What do we want? Fresh water!
When do we want it? Now!

Save our water!
Arrest Governor Snyder!

Clean water for me! Poison for you!

Snyder's got to go!

Save our water!
Arrest Governor Snyder!

CHEERING AND SHOUTING

Here we are in Flint, Michigan.

Sunrise, 2016,

and our Water Defense mission
today is to get

baseline Flint River readings

for the full gamut of potential
chemicals of concern

from not just lead,
but all dangerous heavy metals.

So, here we go.

Scott Smith from the activist group
Water Defense

arrives in town
to do additional testing.

We're going to let this sit
in the water for 30 minutes.

He raises the possibility
of new dangers from the water.

It looks like it's shallow here,
maybe four feet from that, so...

..hopefully the anchor's catching
some sediment on the bottom.

Got the hiccups?

There's the agenda for today.

We have refreshments,
coffee and bagels over there.

Yes.

NBC wants to do a quick interview
with me before we get going,

so we'll say no more than
ten minutes.

When do you guys have to leave?

I think you should capture
the community,

and there's going to be a lot
of intense discussion here.

All right. If you just say
your name for me, please.

Scott Smith, chief technology
officer and investigator

for Water Defense.

And the particulate lead
that the agency has admitted

is a problem, when that comes
in a shower, that can aerosolize

and go into the air.

And some of these symptoms,
the rashes,

and what people are describing,

can come from inhaling
particulate lead.

We need to really focus
on the showers

and what people are inhaling.

And we plan to launch
air testing in bathrooms tomorrow,

which has not been done.

So, Scott is with Water Defense.

Scott comes at this
not as a novice -

he's done this kind of work

all over the country... Good!

..and has done some
international work.

He has a Master's degree
from Harvard.

So, Scott, you got the floor.

APPLAUSE

I decided not to do
a PowerPoint, because I want

this to be a dialogue
with questions.

Our goal is to arm this community

with your ability to do your own
testing, and you can be the judge.

Thank you.

Before we open up - Albert Einstein,
I keep saying this

over and over again.

He said, 90% of solving
a problem is diagnosing it.

Well, I think we know
there's a preponderance of people

getting sick
in bathtubs and showers.

I'll always tell you
what I don't know,

and I'll do everything in my power

to get the scientific data
to let you know.

Yes? I was wondering - lately,
my levels of lead have went up.

Most likely that's particulate lead
and I would like to meet with you,

and come test your house tomorrow.

I won't take showers now
because I'm horrified.

Was your lead tested in your home?

It was, and they've got me
on an anxiety pill now

because I'm on high blood pressure,

it's just enough
to make you just fall over.

I came out of the General Motors,
so I don't qualify for nothing.

But if I had money,
I would leave Flint!

You know?
So where does that leave me?

You deserve the truth,

and you deserve immediate remedies
to help your health. Thank you.

What you don't deserve is being told
this is not coming from bathwater,

shower, water and... Right.

Thank you.

So this... This is what ran today.

"Group fears bathing risks
in Flint water."

And that is from Water Defense.

This is my 62nd disaster since BP.

There is no other disaster that
even remotely compares to this,

due to the complexity
and all the variables.

The real crisis is just beginning,

especially if you're a Flint
resident that has lung cancer,

Legionnaires' disease, a child,

an elderly person that now has
serious, serious issues with lead.

What's your name? Jaylin.

My son takes a bath.
No problem with him,

so, I don't know if it's different
strokes for different folks, but...

Have you ever had rashes from
showers before in your life?

No.

When they tested the tub, was it
cold water, warm water, a mix? Cold.

You don't take a shower
in cold water. Right.

The state has taken a sample
of cold water... Cold water.

But I just have
to look at the camera

because it's hard to believe
what I'm hearing here.

Excuse my mess. It's OK.

You went fishing?

Well, I'm actually fishing
for contamination,

to see what's making
your mother's rashes,

and sister's hair fall out,
all that fun stuff.

This is the first air test
we have done in Flint.

Wow.

I'm going to do actual air testing,
and that air test will mimic

what you're breathing
into your lungs and inhaling.

I have never tested anything
in Flint.

No water.

I've done lead paint in houses,
but not this.

Here, we're looking for lead,
possibly, and organics in the air.

Every time I get in the water,
I break out.

I keep telling my doctor, they keep
saying it's an allergic reaction
or something.

And I'm like, yes, the water.
This is the Water Defense
water bug.

We're going to put this so it's
exposed to the water for 30 minutes.

OK. Instead of putting my skin
there for 30 minutes,

and then just slicing off my skin
and sending it to the lab... Right.

..I'm going to use this,

and then we're going to measure
the actual air.

Water Defense bathroom shower
air testing under way.

Flint water crisis.

I just appreciate it, because
I really don't trust the EPA,

DEQ, I don't trust none of them.

They just made it hard to trust
anyone in Flint, for me.

We're good.

What happens next is we write up
the chain of custody,

I send the cooler off,

and I'll have those results
in three to five days.

Do you want to hold...

OK, you have to talk through
the little... Oh.

I got a good one.

"As for owing me, I will take
what I need from the state

"and give you nothing but
piss and vinegar for taxes."

Piss and vinegar!

When I sat down with Marc Edwards,

he kept saying that filtered tap
water was as good, if not better

than bottled water. Oh, my God!

So we sat down and had dinner and we
got into a huge screaming match,

because I said,
"Please don't do this.

"Why don't you come out door to door
and talk to the people

"who are sick and dying,
and it ain't from lead?"

He told me, "Stop mooching
off the government.

"You guys need to learn
to get used to what you've got."

And... Who? Edwards!
He's a libertarian, honey.

So that's. I mean, he's not...
Really?! Yes. Marc Edwards? Yes.

So they all seem like
there's not any...

To the dismay of many in Flint,
Professor Marc Edwards

has become a close adviser
to Governor Snyder.

So it might be it's a little bit
better, or it might be not.

You know, we'll have to see, right?

And if the second draw is better,

you know, that's still
very good news.

Edwards is advising the governor
there is a cheaper alternative

to replacing all of Flint's pipes.

By adding phosphate to the water,

a protective layer
will form on damaged pipes,

reducing the chance
lead particles will dislodge.

What I'm doing is following
the protocol

we're getting from the experts,
including Professor Edwards.

There's no specific date
that we'll say the water is safe

to turn back on - that will only be
based on scientific evidence

validated by third parties.

So, Governor Snyder, a lot of people
in Flint, as you know,

say he should be in jail.

So if anyone in Flint,
frankly, feels like

this was done to them because

Governor Snyder wanted
to save a few dollars,

I can't fault that.

I mean, if I had been in
their shoes, I would probably

believe the same thing.

But the victims of Flint will say
all they've received

is a few bottles of water.

Well, a few million bottles
of water.

But again, let's put this
in perspective.

You know, there's no magic pot
of money that is going to appear.

That is why I've defended
the hard decisions

that the governor's had to make.

We want to represent your concerns,
your care, your injuries...

'If there is to be
a cheque given out,

'it will come through the lawsuit,

'because in this country,
as you know, the way many people'

say sorry is through the legal
system, for right or wrong.

I can imagine Melissa, listening
to what you've just said

and commenting that you've
turned against the residents,

that you're now own
Governor Snyder's side.

I would tell her you've got
to take the good with the bad.

This is who I am.

And I'm sorry you don't
like what I'm saying,

but it's the truth as I see it.

This is The Daily Show
with Trevor Noah.

We welcome Marc Edwards.

Welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.

You were one of the people
who helped uncover the problems

in Flint, and then you were asked
to help with the problem afterwards,

which is a strange thing.

But what can be done to help
at this stage?

In Flint, Michigan, it's now become
the best monitored

and one of the best run systems
in the country.

And so, as a result, the water
is comparable now to other cities

in the United States.

Well, this is from the EPA.

Everyone can wash your hands, bathe
and shower with unfiltered water.

They're saying lead and copper
won't affect you in the bath,

but I'm hearing otherwise now.

Plus the other chemicals
that are in the water.

Direct contradiction.

Let's go.

I'm after particulate lead
going into the air.

Will you get that from cold water?

We don't know. We might.

Flint water crisis 2016.

Water Defense, air testing
Harold Harrington home

to see what chemicals are being
inhaled directly into the lungs.

It's scary. I mean, when they make
it impossible for you to understand

what's happened to you, they also
make it impossible for you

to do anything to help yourself.

Thanks. Thank you.

Good morning, everybody.

Morning.

I'm Harold Harrington.

I'm not going to rest
until there's safe drinking water

for everybody in Flint,

but I think we need the testing
from Water Defense

and Mark Ruffalo,
Scott Smith to verify that,

because I'm not sure now,
with what I know is in my water,

that the only thing wrong
with this water is lead and copper.

I'm not going to get fooled again.
Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Harold Harrington and his wife

are bathing in
900 parts per billion

1,4-Dichlorobenzene.

These levels are unacceptable.

These chemicals, believe it or not,

chloroform goes through your skin,

they're more dangerous
than bathing in lead. Yes?

So, just to be clear, people in
Flint have been told don't drink it,

don't forget it's not filtered,
etc, but it's OK to bathe in it.

You again are saying that is not OK.

It's absolutely
incomprehensible to me

how anybody with any responsibility
could make any kind of statement

that this water is safe to bathe
and shower in.

Hi, I'm Mark Ruffalo.

HE SIGHS

Now, what's happened here
is a crisis of credibility

from the government.

It's no different
than the negligence that happened

in Louisiana, Katrina,
when certain government officials

decided that it was better
not to fix the dykes,

and those dykes failed,

and those people's lives
were impacted negatively.

The fact that we have to go back
to a Congress that everyone knows

won't do a damn thing,
and beg them for money

so our mothers can take care
of their children, is an outrage.

Water Defense is here.
We're doing testing.

You only find in water
what you look for.

You've got a lot more contaminants
in this water

than what you're being told about.

You've got to keep fighting, I'm
telling you. You've got to fight.

That's the only way to make change.
Thank you.

I'm part of a long legacy
of actors and artists

who become socially aware,
socially conscious,

and push for social justice,

going all the way back to Jesus.

I'm feeling good after
that press conference.

We're now looking at
around a 1:10pm arrival.

So, Mark, how did you become
interested in this situation

in Flint in the first place?

Well, I've been doing a lot
of work in the water space

for the past five years.

I started a group called
waterdefense.org -

we weren't getting a clear picture

of what was happening
with our water.

And what we came across is really
elevated levels of chloroform.

If people are bathing in this, it
seeps into the skin very easily.

It's been known to be cancerous.

Bathing in the water
should not be done.

All right, everyone.
We're here at UA Local 370,

the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union,

and we are ready to deboard the bus.
Come on down.

State health experts and the EPA

say current scientific evidence
shows it's safe

for adults and children to shower
or bathe in the water in Flint,

but an outside group
conducting its own testing

says their results show otherwise.

Bathing in chloroform is
much more dangerous than lead

because it goes through your skin,
it goes in the air,

you breathe them into your lungs.

Yes!

I going to see the President today.

You got to get dressed. You can't
wear what you got on, buddy!

I know!

Oh, a rabbit! A rabbit!

I'll just take it off.

Hopefully, I get to speak with him
so I can let him know

how I feel about Governor Snyder.

Flint lives matter! Flint lives
matter! Flint lives matter!

SHOUTING AND CHEERING

Hello, Flint!

I will not rest, and I'm going
to make sure that the leaders

at every level of government don't
rest, until every drop of water

that flows to your homes is safe
to drink and safe to cook with,

and safe to bathe in,

because that's part of the basic
responsibilities of a government

in the United States of America.

This myth that government
is always the enemy,

you know, that attitude
is as corrosive to our democracy

as the stuff that resulted
in lead in your water.

We especially under-invest when the
communities that are put at risk

are poor, or don't have
a lot of political clout...

..and so are not as often heard
in the corridors of power.

Despite President Obama's visit,

it will be almost a year before
the White House and Congress agree

on a relief package for Flint.

It is insufficient to replace
all the lead pipes in Flint,

and does little to address
the future problems

of a generation of children
with lead poisoning.

Remember last week?

Remember?

'Say hi! We're going to go see
the President!

'Yay!'

That was during the round table
before it started.

I told him I was
three months older than him

and that's where
he started laughing.

He told me I look
pretty good for my age.

That was one of the lighter moments.

I was actually fortunate enough,
I got to sit right beside him.

He had a toast with the residents
with Flint water,

but I declined to drink the toast
with the filtered water.

I was pushing to get federal money
in here to fix the problem,

not drink filtered water

and make it seem
like everything's OK.

I'm all right. I'm going to get
a glass of water right in.

CROWD CLAMOUR

It'll be filtered. Hold on.

I'm going to talk about that in
a second. Settle down, everybody.

President Obama visited,
and then after that,

I kind of pulled myself back away
from politics

because I was just
disgusted by everything.

And I just felt that we're on
the ground, we're by ourselves.

There we go.

One of the things that made me feel
like a rock dropped in my stomach

was when I seen him
take a sip of water.

I really did need a glass of water.
This is not a stunt.

Now, I'm going to talk about this,
everybody settle down.

This is a feisty crowd!

What the fuck?

Yeah, I was there. He took a sip.

Go bathe.

I bet Obama didn't stay here

for two weeks and take a shower
every day.

Man, you too? I saw that on TV,
and I just like, man,

it just kind of messed up
my whole perspective of the world,

because I'm thinking, we there, you
know, we got one in the White House.

People are dying.
You know what I'm saying?

End of the day, people are dying.

I've had some health scares myself,
stem back to the water.

I normally come back a lot
during Black History Month

to go to schools and stuff,

because I didn't make an
announcement that I was moving.

Mama Sol has moved away from Flint
because of health concerns

for herself and her son.

I miss Flint a lot.

I don't miss the weather.

But I miss Flint.

I enjoy working and bringing hope
to my people here at home.

Everything hip-hop should be
is in your music,

and now you've come up with some
new stuff!

A new single that I released today.

I'm really excited about
this single.

It's just an inspiring song.

You know,
reminding the kids of Flint,

don't give up your crown,
don't give up your throne.

You know, it might get rough,
it might seem dark, but don't quit.

# I'm from where
there's lead in the water... #

SHE SINGS ALONG TO HER SONG

# Oh, you suppose
we should sell our souls...#

INDISTINCT LYRICS

# You don't see
what's happening here, bro?

# Don't give up your crown

# Don't give up your throne, king

# Cos our time is now

# Let it be known, queen... #

THEY GREET EACH OTHER

So good to see you all, man!

Whoa! Look at Willow!

It's still emotional for me,
coming back home.

I got to do a quick sound check
so y'all can sit down.

Another strong woman from Flint!

CHEERING

What's up, Flint?

Huh?

# The darker the night,
the brighter the star

# The heart of the fight,
the stronger we are... #

# Why do people keep on dying...? #

Look, Flint.

I love you all so much, man.

I really worry about people here.

Because it's not on the news
any more.

That's the thing
that scares me the most.

You know?

People kind of act like it's OK now

because they saw
a few pipes be replaced

between the sidewalk and the street.

Scary.

So right now, we're writing up
the chain of custody

for these samples, all the different
samples I've taken for the day,

and the official chain of custody,

and then I'm going to show you
how we seal this up with ice,

package it properly.

This is what I do meticulously,

to build this, and the chain of
custody and this documentation

is key to supporting the community
in any court actions.

This certified lab I use
is really where the science is.

What about people who say,
"You don't have a scientific
qualification"?

That's my favourite question.

I... I work with
a lot of scientists,

and a scientist is one
who accumulates knowledge

in a systematic way.

I would argue that the false
narratives from the state,

who are paying the other
"PhD scientists"

are being told their narratives,

so they're not really accumulating
knowledge in a systematic way -

that questions whether or not
they're scientists.

And, second of all, I have six...

I'm a named inventor on six patents
and 14 patents pending.

Now, a lot of the PhDs
I work with, they will say,

"Well, wow, that really
makes you a scientist, Scott.

"We don't have patents to our name."

If you just press
the space bar there.

'This is the Water Defense
water bug

'and it mimics the way...
You see? Those were instant.

'This is going to be the first
air sample we've ever taken

'during the Flint water crisis.

'I just appreciate it,

'cos I really don't trust the EPA,
the DEQ, I don't trust none of them.

'This was exposed to the water
for 30 minutes. OK.

'It's like my skin there
for 30 minutes,

'and instead of sending
my skin to the lab...'

To me, the clip you just played
really shows

what a new dark age looks like,
when science becomes untrustworthy

and we lose the support
of the public,

and we're back to an air of
pseudoscience and mythology and...

..untruth.

I haven't seen a water heater
with a screwdriver thing, so...

..this could get real interesting.

OK.

That's hot!

Yeah, it's really hot.

Oh, shit.

Watch you don't get your pants wet.

Would you hold this for me,
if you don't mind? Yeah.

If you could slow down that video
I just saw,

the sample from the bottom
of the water heater.

What you will see
is a metallic hose bit there,

which is the point
of sample collection,

and these are notorious
for having very high lead in them,

because they are not designed
to dispense water

fit for human consumption.

The other incredible mistake
he's made

is you might have seen the water
shoot out of the bottle,

go up and hit the hose bib,

allowing the water to collect dust
from outside the hose bib,

which then falls back
into the bottle again.

Take no showers and no baths.

It's got to be coming
from the hot water. OK.

These people in Flint have been
exploited on so many levels.

And who's paying the price for this?

It's these kids.

We've had so many
different diagnoses,

but those spots
turned into white spots.

Wow. What did the doctor say?

The first diagnosis,
a fungus infection.

Then it was athlete's foot.

Then it was a bacterial infection.

Don't disturb him.
The pictures say it all.

My brother, Demetrius,
he can't think that good.

Now he has to go through life...

You have to keep moving on.

Mike, that's a little bit different
than what you had in the first
shower, right? Yeah.

Well, I got that blue pump on -
the other one went down,

I think I got too much moisture.

As soon as I get the results,
you'll get an email. Thank you.

You'll get them within minutes
of me having them, no matter what.

Appreciate it. OK, good luck with
everything. All right. Thank you.

You have the EPA
and you have Mr Smith.

The EPA has let us down
so many times,

and they keep coming up
with different figures,

different numbers.

So, you know, we're not...
We don't trust it.

I'll take the numbers that
Mr Smith has and I'll run with it.

And so, this is the pump -
the hose that the pump goes on.

I'll just hang the shower hose
up here.

Once you get in there, you want
to make sure that you're doing it

with your best foot...

..and the water comes right out.

And the more you pump it,
the more pressure builds in it.

I tell my boys I'm going
to extend a longer hose,

so someone can be out here pumping.

That's too much to go through.

I'd rather take a chance on this

than take the tap water.

I say two to three hours,
everybody is done showering.

You know, considering we have
to put water on the stove

to heat them up, so...

About three hours max.

Three to four. Three to four.

Yes, may I have a bacon, egg
and cheese biscuit sandwich,

substitute egg white
and white cheddar? Sure.

And may I have a large
Diet Coke, please?

OK, did you want the meal or just
the biscuit? Just the biscuit.

Thank you.

They're just digging in
like a tick on a dog.

I've never seen anything like it.

I'm more used to battling
government agencies.

I get angry when people
are being victimised,

and I feel part of my job
is to defend the public welfare.

There's a conflict of interest here
that isn't being discussed.

'At Opflex Environmental
Technologies, we are excited
about our future.'

This is an Opflex environmental
indicator, where we can

fingerprint exactly what the oil is,

and we are going to take this to
a lab and have it fingerprinted

to find out what the contamination
is, specifically.

We had tried to push this product
for oil spill clean-ups,

and frankly,
it didn't work very well.

A cruise ship has olive oil,
has lubricant oil,

even if the bunker oil doesn't leak.

And this is what we did
in the Gulf of Mexico.

Clear water is being repelled,
dripping out,

and there you have your olive oil.

So, you know, when his sponge
business didn't work out,

the logical extension was
to take that product and start

throwing it in
the bathtubs and showers.

So, here we go.

He's using Flint as his test field,

and came into Flint after
the water disaster was declared...

..and circumvent normal product
development and safety testing

and proving that the product works

and just trying to sell it
to people.

We're going to take
four tentacles from the top.

So we've started monitoring,
documenting

all these false health claims,

and all the inept and illegal
sampling that they're doing,

and trying to get the message out
that these folks are dangerous.

You're going to tell us,
no matter what they say.

The fact they're exploiting
residents in Flint, their fears...

We will. Good luck with everything.

..just sickening.

We'll be downstairs, and then we'll
just catch you when you come in.

Yep, I'm going to bring some
stuff in and then, of course,

we can get the water unloaded
and take it downstairs to you.

Perfect. I'll see you in a minute.

Of course, those water tests
are thousands of dollars,

and we're just happy that
Water Defense,

we're lucky enough that
Water Defense paid for it,

and I had a stack of paper,
actually, and handed to my doctor,

who looked at it and went,
"Oh, my God."

And welcome to
the Seventh Ward community meeting.

Did you guys sign in?

I don't want to limit discussion
because...

I can't do Wednesday night
or Thursday night

because I'm going to go testify
in front of Congress.

It was so bad.

I'm sure it did.

But he's losing his shit.

Thursday, the 16th. Good.
I'm leaving Wednesday night.

Good, OK.

Two years after
the water crisis began,

residents continued to pin
their hopes on the legal system

to get compensation.

It's a very sombre feeling
because the legal system

is a very slow moving system,

and, you know,
we have community meetings

to keep our clients
informed and updated,

and a lot of times, we have to tell
them we're still in the midst

of answering motions
and responding to motions

to dismiss that the defendants
have filed.

And it's what we believe
is just a delay tactic.

I received paperwork
from the class action

and I have a question
before I sign it.

I had a miscarriage
throughout this crisis,

and lost twins, and they gave
me a blood transfusion.

I believe that the lead was
the cause of my miscarriage.

We need you to bring
your medical records so that

we can have an expert
evaluate to see.

Have you had any other children?

My son is seven. He's been kicked
out of school 56 times.

56 times.

56 times this year.

And he needs special education
services now.

He has nightmares. He sleepwalks.

And it's like they knowingly knew
that that water was poisoned,

and let us drink it.

APPLAUSE

As of today's date, they have not
done anywhere what they need to do.

They have not dug up these pipes.

They have not provided us
safe drinking water.

And we don't believe the water
you're bathing in is safe.

No, it's not.

Tonight, you're going to hear
from some experts,

who are going to provide you
with information

that you need to decide
for yourself.

Towards the middle -
the gentleman at the back?

The government immunity -
how can this guy say

that just because
they're the government,

they're not liable for killing us?

Yes!

I've been so sick, but, you know,
I have to get her from school.

I have no option. That's the way
we have to do it right now.

And here's Michigan School
for the Deaf to the left.

It's a state-run school.

I sit here usually,
and wait till they come out.

It's almost like
we've been displaced,

not only from our home,
but from our lives, you know?

It's like everything's stopped...

..until this problem's over with,
you know?

I'm tired.

Oh, there she is.

Stop, you've got to watch...
Stay over here. I know.

Don't! Don't get in my purse.
You want to be grounded?

A whole month!

Get my purse, you get grounded.
A month.

SHE SHRIEKS

I've seen that video with Scott
Smith talking about the bacteria,

so I called Scott Smith up
and invited him over to my house

to do some testing.

I don't want you going in there
now because of what's going on.

Taylor.

I need my mask.

I know you do, but that's
not going to happen today.

Are you going to listen to me,
or do I have to stay out here?

'I know the kids and everything...'

Are you going to wait, and stay out
here, or do I have to wait?

'..they can't, you know,
be exposed to it either.'

I want you to stay in the car. You
don't have a mask to go inside. No.

'I'm not going to take that chance.'

Get in the car, now.

Florlisa Fowler has now
abandoned her home,

and is living in temporary
accommodation outside of town.

It's not worth our lives,
but we want to come home.

KNOCKING

Please! Get back in the car.

SHE PANTS

I hate to go nuclear on people,
but when they refuse to listen

to reason, or they're unscientific,
you have no choice, so...

RADIO DJ ANNOUNCEMENT

Joining me now, as promised,
is Dr Marc Edwards.

Kids are getting hurt.

Mothers have called me and said
they're afraid of letting their kids

bathe or shower or wash their hands,

scared off from normal hygiene

by the claims
of these pseudoscientists.

Edwards points to a recent spike
in gastrointestinal illnesses

reported recently by the Genesee
County Health Department.

Edwards says he has a problem
with how samples were collected.

Right now, EPA across every American
city gathers its samples

the same way, through one point
of distribution of cold water.

Water Defense gathers its samples
from water heaters and hot showers.

Are you prepared to accept
the liability and the consequences

that your words will have -

your false, irresponsible,
unscientific statements?

You expose a Hollywood fraud,

it turns out it's a little bit...
it's a little bit tricky,

because people, again,
have this presumption of,

"Oh, this is the good guy,"

just like the government agencies
were good guys, supposedly,

when they weren't.

So you're talking about
Mark Ruffalo?

Yeah. Mark Ruffalo.
This is his group.

No-one would be listening
to Scott Smith

and buying into his stupid
pseudoscience

unless Mark Ruffalo was behind it.

Mark Ruffalo's in the pictures
with these stupid sponges.

Mark, it's a pleasure
to have you back.

So, what is it that brought
the two of you together?

Water Defense was looking
for some kind of testing method

that was really thorough and subtle.

And I saw him and I said, this guy
really knows what he's doing

and he's got a disruptive
breakthrough technology.

We have a platform
to introduce him to the world.

And Scott was brought on
as our chief scientist.

Mark Ruffalo is retweeting Scott's
messages about lead in homes

that have no lead, in Flint.

So in the end, you have to attack
the man behind the curtain.

And I know nothing
about this person,

except, of all the scientists
in the world that you could hire

to expose water problems,

why did you hire this
pseudoscientific fraud,

who has no science degree,
and call him a chief scientist?

It's beyond comprehension to me.

What was your reaction when
there were some professors who

took issue with some comments that
you'd made? Do you have a response?

I want to ask you directly.

The important thing to remember is
those people are really sick there,

and that we should focus on them,

not... not people getting,
uh, feeling like...

..the information coming out of
there, which is just test results,

and that's the conversation
we should be having,

not whether or not my
organisation is scientists,

because we've admitted
we're citizen scientists, you know?

And so all we're doing
is giving people information,

and there's nothing wrong with that.

The more information people have,
the better off they are.

To say that giving information to
the people is somehow scaring them,

that's not what I'm hearing
from the community.

Ask the community, they'll tell you.

I'm worried about chloroform.
I'm worried about acetone.

I'm worried about all
these other chemicals

they don't want to talk about.

I've worked with
an independent water expert,

and his name is Scott Smith.

CHEERING

Scott Smith, who's tested
our house a couple of times,

says we have some of the highest
levels of chloroform in our house.

Scott Smith has also tested
my water. I have 97 pages.

This is everything
that is in my water,

from lead, to other
heavy contaminants

and bacterias.

Carbon tetrachloride...

Some of the stuff
I had to Google and look up

because I don't even know how
to pronounce some of the stuff
that's in my water.

They even got
volatile organic compounds,

which I don't know what that means,

but I'm glad I got the paperwork
on everything.

Maybe they just want to be there
early. I don't know. They said 10am.

Professor Edwards is back in Flint,
this time to testify in court.

I mean, you can't make this shit up.

This is like Bonfire of the
Vanities, 21st century version.

And so, I'm the enemy.
I've been branded a traitor.

It's the scientist's curse.

If you tell people the truth,
folks are going to get mad at you.

Some of the residents, they welcomed
you as a hero back in August, 2015.

And now they say, "Well, you're
appearing to defend the state."

I've just been defending and
speaking the truth from the start,

and when speaking the truth
was in their interest,

of course,
that was when we were heroes.

Unfortunately,
we're the ones saying the things

that they don't want to hear now.

The truth, the data,

are showing that the water's
getting better,

and there's other groups claiming
the water's getting worse every day,

that people are dying
from the water,

that nothing that
this relief effort has done

has made a difference at all.

All rise, please.

Governor Snyder's top health
official, Dr Eden Wells,

has been charged with
involuntary manslaughter

for allegedly covering up the
outbreak of Legionnaires' disease.

Edwards is testifying
in her defence.

Did you have any knowledge,
as we sit here today,

that sputum samples that
the Michigan Department of Health

and Human Services were destroyed
in March 2015?

No.

Do you have any knowledge about

how many sputum samples
they currently have?

They sent us all the ones
they claimed to have.

Well, "claim" is an ambiguous term.
Do you think they're lying to you?

What do you think
about the cost of this case?

It's cost millions of dollars
already, and who's paying for it?

We are.

We're paying for representing
against us.

I don't understand that at all.

How are we, the people of
the state of Michigan,

being charged for a mistake
from the state of Michigan,

or whoever caused this problem?
It's ridiculous.

Over $30 million of public funds
have been spent,

both prosecuting and defending
the government officials involved.

Professor Edwards has now
started his own legal action.

We're going to go in right now
on Virginia Tech's Marc Edwards.

The same Marc Edwards that was
once hailed as environmental saviour

of Flint, by revealing the folks
in Flint were being lied to

about the quality of their water.

And now Marc Edwards
is trying to silence

the activist community in Flint
by filing litigation against them.

We thought it was a joke.

And then, when I sent it off
to an attorney,

he said, "No, it's not",
he said, "but, wow!"

A university professor is suing
a Flint resident for $3 million.

It's horrible.

I never in a million years thought
that what happened could happen.

An anonymous letter was sent,
saying horrible things about me.

There was a Flint resident
whose metadata was on the document.

You're talking about Melissa Mays?
Melissa Mays.

Why hit the litigation button?

Did you have to go down that route?

Yes.

No, I had no choice.

You've got to realise, this letter
was being used to destroy us.

This letter was taken
to professional conferences,

interrupting my students'
presentation,

handed out to participants.

"Virginia Tech is unethical."

He personally told me, when we
first started working together,

in July, August 2015, I was a hero,

and I did the right thing by
speaking out and speaking the truth.

Melissa was just incredible.

She was always there,
front and centre. Truly heroic.

I had never stopped doing that,

and talking about
what it's like to live here,

telling people this is
what we're going through.

And now he's suing me for it.

I'm sad whenever anyone goes
post-truth.

It's part of what contributes
to this horrific loss of trust

that we're living with,
and not just in America,

across the Western democracies.

And people have
to be held accountable.

What if we lose?

We'll have nothing.

We'll have no home.

We will have... My kids...

Six days after Melissa Mays
is sued by Marc Edwards,

there is another unexpected twist.

Scott Smith suddenly switches sides.

He comes to Flint
to make a public apology.

I imagine this is shocking for some
people, on the heels of a special

blog post, with some lessons
he learned in Flint

and clarifying the facts.

Scott Smith, special guest in studio
with us, set the record straight

about certain aspects of his work.

Obviously, you know,
made some mistakes.

I'm fully accountable
for all the mistakes.

That's why I did this. Never did I
ever intend to cause panic or fear.

For those people that I caused
panic or fear, I deeply apologise.

Obviously, I am not a water expert
scientist by any means whatsoever,

but I do think out of the box.

Smith says his own research
in Flint was faulty

and that the chemical levels he
found in Flint's water were normal,

and not dangerous.

He says Professor Edwards
was right all along.

I don't think that there's any way
that I would believe a scientist

saying that this Flint water
is safe.

Water line right there.
More water, Mum!

More water.

Scott Smith says, "Look, I'm sorry
if I caused you distress."

What do you feel
when you hear his apology?

All of a sudden
his tone has changed around to,

"Oh, I didn't do this right",
or whatever it may be.

I really don't have any words
for Scott Smith, as of right now.

Hey, Scott. Good morning.
Good to see you.

I'm so happy you're filming this.
You have no idea.

There's national media interest
reaching out to me since all this.

I declined everything because
I wanted it to happen in Flint,

and nothing better with you.

So, Scott,
give me your name and title.

Scott C Smith. Formerly the chief
investigator for Water Defense.

And what are you now, Scott?

Now I am the owner, or CEO,
of Aquaflex Holdings LLC.

So this is a bit of
an about-turn, because

when I interviewed you
at the Hampton Inn,

when you were bringing in samples,
I remember you saying to me,

"This is the real lab.
This is where the science is done."

Were you wrong? I was...

..right and wrong,

but I was entirely wrong
about Dr Edwards.

But did you fear that you were going
to face legal action, unless...

No, no. There's no arrangement.

He was not threatening
to sue me at all.

If anything, I was going...
I decided it's time to,

in talking to my personal attorney,

you know, the best retraction
or correction you can get.

Admit where you made mistakes.

But why didn't you correct
Mark Ruffalo at the time and say,

"I'm not a chief scientist, I have
no scientific qualifications"?

We changed that. I forget what year
we changed it. That was early on.

I don't know what video...
There's so many videos out there.

I'd have to look
at the right videos.

At the time, Water Defense,
you know,

that's what they wanted to call me.

But the point is, is that people
saw you as a scientist.

So when you came in and you did
those tests, they believed that...

You're asking a question
with your opinion.

I'm not going to respond to that.

But... You're telling me how people
viewed me, and that's hearsay.

I'm not going to allow anybody
to spin this against me ever again.

With all due respect.
You have an agenda here.

I'm just repeating what
the residents have said to me.

I never promoted myself
as an expert.

I promoted it never, ever.

So the water bug tests,
were they legitimate?

Do you stand by those
as a way of determining

whether people's water... What's
your definition of legitimate?

The testing... Your definition of
legitimate, this is a gotcha moment.

You know what? I volunteered
to do these interviews.

Is this where we're going?

Thank God I got that other camera.

So you don't think that a water bug
picking up other stuff

that's on the bottom of the bathtub,
there's any problem with that?

I... You know, um...

You'd... You have to do
a variety of tests.

I mean, you know,
there possibly could be,

it just... It was...
It was a research method

at the time that we used,
you know, so...

It was... It was to see what
the results would be, you know?

Obviously, it's going to detect
the presence of other chemicals.

And then when you take it,
you know, and we've changed that

and we've adapted.

So you're saying to me here,
on camera,

that the water bug
is not a legitimate test?

I'm not saying that at all.
Don't put words in my mouth,

and watch out for defamation
if you say that.

Here we are in Flint.

So LeeAnne's house is pretty much
a ground zero for lead.

Lead samples that came back
from her house in 2015

were toxic waste levels of lead.
Shall we go in?

Are they waiting for us in here?

Higher. Yeah? Good!

I guess the first thing that comes
to mind when I watched some of the
footage and saw some of your story,

why are you still here?

Because this is our community.

My husband was born and raised here,

and this is where
we've purchased our home.

This is where our friends
and family are.

I can tell you it takes me
20 gallons of bottled water,

actual gallons, to bathe
my seven-year-olds, and we...

You do that how?
You heat it up on the stove.

You heat water in pots on a stove?

Yes. And pour it into a bathtub.
Yes.

This is a very interesting area.

Why is all this boarded up -
it's all abandoned?

Florlisa can talk to you about this,
Alec. Her house was worth $60,000.

It's now worth about $6,000.

How are you?

You're still going to
Michigan School for the Deaf?

Yes. Yeah? Great. Fantastic.

We're going to talk to your mum. OK.

You guys stay warm
and we'll be back.

I saw a cut of the film
for you and your family.

Your bills are over $600 a month?

Mine was, this past month, $640.

How much water are you using?

The water is now shut off, because
we're not able to be in the house.

And there's no way
you could sell your home.

Who's going to buy a home
where you can't use the water?

Who's helping you? Nobody.

This is your neighbour?
Yes, this is Mrs Evans.

Mrs Evans is over here,
yelling at us.

Is the coffee still there?
Don't you need it?

That's my son. He's deceased.

What happened to him?

Seven guys jumped on him
and beat him to death. Where?

Here in Michigan?

Yes, about two streets over.

No!

When did that happen? How long ago?

'97. I'm so sorry.

Did they catch them?

No.

So this is for Taylor.
What have they told you

about the quality of water,

and the filtration of the water
at your school?

These chairs belonged
to my grandmother.

My goodness.

You love your family, I can tell.

You stayed. You're here.
Did you ever think about leaving?

No. Never? I'm too old.

You are? I'm 80 years old.

You've lived in this house
for how long? Since 1963.

So you raised your kids
in this house? Yes.

We don't use this water.
Right. You know?

They want to charge you for the
water, whether you use it or not.

We just want to come home.

Are you the mayor?

I am.

So, their neighbour... Let me
just tell you this quick story.

Their neighbour, Mrs Evans,
an African-American woman

from Mississippi...

Is she little? Yes!

Zetan? I love her! She just had us
over her house for coffee and cake.

Oh, wow! You know what?
She invited us in her house.

I am her granddaughter's godmother.
No!

Let me just ask you this.

Do you think that they let happen
to Flint what happened

because Flint is poor,

or Flint is African-American,

since all the white flight
after the jobs left, or both?

I think it's both. You do.

I think it's an issue of race
and it was an issue of class.

I believe it's both of those factors
coming together.

Because I do believe that, had this
been a different community,

a more affluent community,

if it did happen,
it sure would have gotten fixed.

We wouldn't have had to go
a year and a half, you know,

holding up jugs of brown water,

people complaining
about their hair,

people complaining
about skin rashes,

having people die of Legionnaires'.

We didn't know this initially, but
then as the doctor started looking

and researching, they said,
wow, the amount of miscarriages

and stillbirths went up in the city
of Flint during that time.

The cases of pneumonia went up.

Were they really pneumonia, or were
they Legionnaires'? We don't know.

And they're going to be finding
these kinds of things out.

We have to look at what's
going on in the school system,

as far as mental health
and the need for mental health,

the juvenile justice system,

special education.

Will there be an increase
in foster care and adoption?

For years,
people are going to be anxious.

They're going to be scared.

Demoralised. Yeah, exactly. Like
nobody cares. Like nobody cares.

We need to go over the performance.

This is what's going to happen.

We're going to enter,

lay down very quietly.

Nakia is going to give her speech,

then Nakia's going to lay down.

Get up and silently leave.

Think about our daughters,
think about our bodies,

and really harness that emotion.
Yeah.

Pull up to the gate.

We are here today

because mothers
and women across Flint

have been harmed.

This area is a crime scene.

We have lost children.

The true toll of the Flint water
disaster is still being tallied.

Our futures have been harmed.

Health officials have reported a 58%
increase in stillborn babies...

This crisis has took both
of my newborn children.

..and a spike in miscarriages.

At least 200 fewer children
were born as a result.

Scientists estimate that as many
as 50 people may have died

from Legionnaires' disease
in Flint,

making it the worst outbreak
in US history.

Scratch the rough skin
on the baby elephant...

According to the Michigan
Department of Education,

reading scores in Flint
have fallen by 50%.

Feel the fluffy, yellow duck.

So we have formed a dynamic team.

We have been very active
and on the move.

We have already filed
multiple pieces of litigation...

None of the class action cases

have resulted in direct compensation
for the residents...

..and no-one has gone to jail.

'Bombshell breaking news
in the Flint water crisis.'

Criminal charges dropped...

..against eight current
and former officials.

A move that wipes clean
involuntary manslaughter charges

against key players in the crisis.

Marc Edwards had his lawsuit
against Melissa Mays dismissed.

The judge ruled that
the accusations made about him

are protected by the constitutional
right to free speech.

Governor Snyder, we've been asking
for an interview with your office

for this film that we're making
and we've been refused.

I wonder if you could explain
to me why that is.

I'm not aware of that.

I'll be happy to have people
take it offline with you.

You are in violation.

The police are on their way.

Charges will be pressed
against you

for trespassing on property

that is protected
under Homeland Security.

Police are on their way.

You are trespassing on property

that is protected
under Homeland Security.

The police are on their way.

MUSIC: "Crown" by Mama Sol

# I can't say that I've always
walked no straight and narrow

# But I did name my kid after
an Egyptian pharaoh, yeah

# And I can't say life for me just
been some sorta walk in the park

# Yeah

# But like a spark in the dark
or a dart to the heart

# I'll bring light and love

# I put nothing above

# My God
My God

# My scars are reminders
of the pain I've surpassed

# It's amazing how we forget so fast
the blood in our veins

# Contains the DNA
of the ancient ones

# Disappointing how complacent
we've become

# I meditate with the rising sun

# First stage is pray

# On a path and the path is prepared

# I'm very aware

# We are at war
more than ever before

# Until the boss of an entire
ancestral energy's empire

# And when we strike back,
we under attack

# From so many angles

# How can you pose for a pic
with your family and smile

# When behind you
a dead body dangles?

# Think about that

# Don't give up your crown

# Don't give up your throne, king

# Cos our time is now

# Let it be known, queen

# Send movie stars

# Send in some guys

# They know who we are

# See, it was by design for us

# To be on welfare

# Live in projects
with no health care

# Very little direction

# But we have our pride

# At the high water here
collecting promise

# Neglect our looks

# Send more liquid
till depression comes

# Sneaking in, it's sink or swim

# Where I'm from
There's lead in the water

# I ain't asleep or dumb... #

MUSIC FADES