REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
- Michigan has issued an advisory to the residents of Benton Harbor not to drink the water.
- In 2018, Benton Harbor found that it had lead contamination of 22 parts per billion.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a $10 million budget to replace lead pipes in the city.
The state of Michigan has issued an advisory to the residents of Benton Harbor, a majority-Black city, to not use their tap water "out of an abundance of caution."
Three years ago in 2018, Benton Harbor found that it had lead contamination of 22 parts per billion in its water, far higher than the federal action threshold level of 15 ppb set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has said no level of lead exposure is considered safe.
Activists told The Guardian they have been pleading with the state the last three years questioning if the water is safe and organizing community bottled water pick-ups themselves.
Benton Harbor is a town of nearly 10,000 people in the southwest corner of Michigan. Approximately 85% of residents are Black.
Rev. Edward Pinkney, head of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council, told The Guardian he believes the state is ready to do something and this decision to issue an advisory is a step in the right direction.
Pinkney called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to declare a state of emergency, which would expedite the timeline to replace the city's pipes and alert residents it's unsafe to drink.
"You need to call for a state of emergency right now," Pinkney told The Guardian. "That will get the attention of the people in Benton Harbor. Tell the people that the water is unsafe. Just tell them."
Pickney's organization, along with other local human rights groups, filed an emergency appeal to the EPA on September 9, The Guardian reported. In response, the EPA said it is working with the state, county, and city to address the community's public health needs.
Whitmer has signed a $10 million budget directed toward replacing the lead pipes in the city, MLive reported. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said it will work with other agencies at the state, county, and municipal levels to bring water filters and bottled water to every resident in Benton Harbor.
Benton Harbor isn't the only Michigan city in the last decade get an advisory not to use the taps based on lead levels. Flint, Michigan, infamously went without safe water for five years, and in some cases residents still don't trust the water.