Original subtitles

(SOUL MUSIC PLAYING)

NAYYIRAH: Welcome to Fllnt, the clty I call home.

Not lure that you would have heard anything pleuont about It

for the put 30 your: or no.

My name ll Noyylnh Shorlffi

and I've been on ectlvllt In Fllnt for over a decade.

Okay, what I'm golng to tell you about our water crlala la not the whole atory

becauae, let'a face It, the deeper you dlg,

the more complicated thla thlng gets.

Lot: of people In Fllnt were proteatlng.

Screamlng and ahoutlng about aornethlng, uaually taken for granted, tap water.

WALLING: All rlght. Well, I guess we should start.

It's not the fanclast of places, but, everybody's all set to go?

ALL: Yeah.

All set? Here we go. Do you need a countdown?

-Why not? -Yeah. All rlght.

Three! Two! One!

NAYYIRAH: One lllclr of a awltch to Fllnt rlver water

Instead of Lake Huron,

whlle we walt lor the new plpellne to be bullt

Whlch was gonna be so much cheaper.

Here's to Fllnt!

ALL: Fllnt! Fllnt!

(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

BOY: Watch out!

(KIDS CHATTERING)

(KIDS CHATTERING)

(MUSIC PLAYING OVER HEADPHONES)

MAYS: What are my guys up to? They help you clean up?

No, of course not. They're pllylng football In the yard.

That was Goodbye Gemlnl by Blood Ceremony.

I Just got to see them llve wlth All That Remalns,

and they absolutely tore up the stage.

Okay, we have a Ilstener named Arlel,

who wants to hear Day of the lntruder, by none other than Avenue Sky.

My oldest loves thls song.

Thanks for Ilstenlng to the IndIGrace Showcase.

Thls ls Mellssa Mays, your host.

It's not red. It's more Ilke a copper rlnse.

Well, you know how I feel about change. It's for the young and Indeclslve.

Well, 'Wholesome Chestnut Number 31' could use an update, Morn.

I can do a vegetable dye.

It'll fade out In Ilke, two to three weeks.

You want me to go through thls every three weeks? No way.

Maybe I'll go blonde.

Blonde?

That was ajoke, honey.

Better be.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

You couldn't handle rne blonde.

I don't thlnk the world could handle you blonde.

How's that leg?

Oh, It's okay.

I won't be competlng agalnst Usaln Bolt any tlme soon.

So tell hlm to stop salllng rne, talklng about,

'What happened wlth the rematch?‘

(LAUGHING)

Could you Imaglne?

Jake has a frlend who Is a lawyer and he speclallzes In freak accldents.

Come on, Morn.

It's not falr that a hlt-and-run should get away wlthout consequences.

It wasn't your fault.

And please don't tell me that llfe Isn't falr.

Okay. 'What's done ls done.‘

I'll get advlce for the clalm from Doctor Mona.

You know the one at the hospltal.

And what "lawyer friend" does Jake have?

-AII rlght, all rlght. -Please.

I'll stop. It's your blscults.

That's rlght, It's my blscults.

The water smells gross.

-What do you mean? -I don't know. lee It's gone bad.

Water doesn't go bad.

When dld you change the filter last?

Four weeks ago.

(GRUNTS)

-Yeah? -Yes.

Bless us, 0 Lord, for these Thy glfts whlch we are about to recelve,

from thy bounty through Chrlst our Lord we pray. Amen.

(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING)

-I packed that place! -W|sh we could've been there.

That set started at 11:00 p.m. on a school nlght.

I'm not that terrlble of a mom.

Hey, you okay? What's wrong?

I don't feel so good.

Oh, no. Is It your tummy? Maybe It's somethlng you ate?

What's wrong?

Our mlddle man doesn't feel so good.

All rlght, well, If you don't feel better In the mornlng, buddy,

we'll take you to the doctor.

Tlll then, crackers and chamomlle tea for you.

(LAUGHS PLAYFULLY)

Hey, what time is your mom coming home?

Not untll 10:00. She's golng to dollar movle nlght wlth a frlend.

Hey, don't make It too hot agaln.

I Ilke It hot.

Yeah. I know.

Turn on that llght.

It smells.

You should probably get your plpes flxed, babe.

Gross.

Should we Just go to my room?

Yeah.

Let's see.

It's contact dermatltls.

He's probably comlng Into contact wlth somethlng he's allerglc to.

He's never been allerglc to anythlng before so I don't...

Well, klds can develop allergles.

You could try cortlsone cream.

Okay.

It could also be seables.

Mltes. How often do you change thelr sheets?

How often do you change yours?

Permethrln cream. It's an lnsectlclde. Two appllcatlons, one week apart.

Okay.

Thank you.

-How are you dolng? -l'm flne.

(PEOPLE COUGHING)

(CHATTERING)

Any Idea how long the walt ls?

-A few hours. -Hours?

Yeah, we're understaffed.

And It's been nonstop rashes, dlarrhea, fever.

-Damn. -Ma'am? Are you okay?

Morn?

Ma'am?

Morn?

Yeah. ljust need...

Ma'am?

-Hl|ary! -Mom!

-lt's okay. -Mom, what Is It?

-lt's okay. -See.

(STAMMERING)

Okay. Yeah.

I never had a selzure In my llfe.

Adam.

Fllnt Is In vlolatlon of the 'Federal Safe Drlnklng Water Act.‘

And that's from the clty?

Total Trlhalomethanes. A earclnogen.

That doesn't sound good.

We're supposed to boll the water.

I told you It tasted welrd.

Yeah, you were rlght. It dld taste funny.

And we've been cooklng wlth It. Bathlng In It.

Brlng In the mall.

I need a new Job.

Why? You love yourjob.

That offlce ls llke the DMV every slngle day.

We're gonna have to get new benches to put In the waltlng roorn,

because patlents are standlng around.

Slnce when dld the water blll go from $00 to $210?

I'll check It out.

'Operatlonal costs.‘

Jake's smart, Morn.

Yes, Jake can read. What does that mean?

Well, one of my couslns got hlred for the renovatlon

down at the water plant and... Renovatlon?

I mean, what, are they coverlng them In gold?

All we need to do Is get the rust out. How are we supposed to pay thls?

What?

One, two, three, four, five, slx.

Oh, my God, I'm late!

Hey, you know what? Just pretend that It's sunscreen.

It doesn't smell llke sunscreen.

Smells llke...

(LAUGHING)

All rlght, you're done. Next.

Your turn for some dog poo. Here, hang on to the dog poo.

COMMENTATOR: He goes for the shot It rebounds on the lnalde,

he'a looklng for an open man, clear: It

As John aald, a great poaltlon by the goaltender there.

Well done. You know, after a season of rehab,

he's really comlng back lnto hla own wlth confldence.

It's a hard Injury to come back from but..

(GASPS)

NAYYIRAH: It's one thlng to feel that there Is a problem...

to do your research, to have a auaplclon that aomethlng la wrong.

But It's a whole other ballgame to make people In charge llaten or care.

HI. HI, I'm here for the councll meetlng.

Yeah, Just through those doors.

Okay. Thank you.

MAN: I know you guys don't know about thls.

Otherwlse, you know, you'd do somethlng, rlght?

But, at Saglnaw and 7th,

there's actually a stop slgn that's about halfway down.

If you... You een't see It.

I mean, I know It's there 'eeuse I llve down the street.

I also notlced when I was drlvlng around

Store Street that the llghts are out.

And I mean, there's never a traffic controller there.

You got, you got ears comlng from four dlrectlons...

Flrst tlme?

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Is It that obvlous?

Just haven't seen you before. Nayylrah Sharlff.

LeeAnne Walters.

I mean, he could have been kllled. He was lucky not to be kllled.

Thank you. Your concerns have been noted.

Are there any other speakers for thls publlc hearlng?

Yeah. HI.

HI, I'm LeeAnne Walters.

I'm Just a mom from Fllnt.

But I'm here today beeeuse when my sons take a bath,

they get a rash rlght at the water llne all the way down thelr bodles.

Now last summer, after we swltched to Fllnt Rlver water,

we had two bolllng advlsorles for E. coll.

And then thls year we got a warnlng from the clty about the TTHMs,

the Total Trlhalomethanes...

Mrs. Walters, If I may Interrupt. Jerry Ambrose, Emergency Manager.

We changed water sources. There's a natural adjustment perlod.

Okay, adjustment for what?

We changed In Aprll. It's January.

And now there's a eencer chemleel In our water.

when It was detected In the water last year.

The TTHMs are a byproduct...

They eeuse eencer!

I mean, thls Is our water that we use to bathe,

to do our laundry, to cook for our famllles.

We're already worklng wlth the EPA and the MDEO...

Who?

With the Environmental Protection Agency

and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

to make sure that Fllnt passes Its next round of tests

with flying colors.

Water experts that I have the utmost respect for

have assured us that there Is absolutely nothing to worry about.

-Thank you for your question. -I guess...

Are there any other speakers for this public hearing?

Yeah. Let's wrap It up. Got a couple of meetings to get to.

He didn't answer anything and the Mayor didn't even speak.

Yeah, Ambrose ls appointed Superman.

The Governor brought him In when Fllnt couldn't handle Its budget.

He has absolute say.

What Is he, appointed dictator?

He's an appointed dick.

Mr. Mayor! Mayor Walllng.

Llsten, I'm no expert, but this Is our drinking water.

I don't want to take any chances.

Is there going to be any sort of follow-up...

Of course! This Is of great concern to me.

on, okay.

I want families to feel safe lnslde their own homes.

I have children, too.

If you have any more worries, Just eel! my office anytime.

-And I'll that I een. Okay? -Okay.

Thank you. I really appreciate that...

You're welcome. All right. Have a great day.

Hey, what'd he say?

That he'll take eere of It.

I mean, I think that's what he said.

Good luck. I eelled City Utilities.

They had me on hold for over an hour.

Then they said, 'There's nothing wrong.‘ That It's all fine.

Yeah, right. How een It be fine when It smells like a sewer.

The GM Fllnt Englne Plant

said that the Flint River was corrodlng their engines.

Corrodlng englnes?

-Yeah. -Wow. That's...

What do you think It's doing to our bodies?

I mean, was that even on the news? Why aren't there more people here?

Beeeuse not every ward's water ls equally as bad.

Some service lines are older than others.

Some people's water ls stlll clear.

And not everybody got or read that city warnlng.

I mean, don't you think that we should tell them?

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

I am trying, okay?

Do you have kids?

Beeeuse I'm a stay-at-home mom and that Is my main concern right now.

Honestly, I have 30.

(LAUGHING)

Or at least I used to until they took the funding

for the youth program that I coordinated.

She's our loeel resldent hero.

(LAUGHING)

Yeah, besides that? I'm a single lady.

No shackles or diapers. I fight for democracy and I een cook.

So, If you want to stop by any time, you know,

I'll whlp something up for you.

Well, I would love that.

Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, I'll eel! him and make an appointment.

Okay. Thank you, Doctor.

Doctor Almansour says I'm posltlve

for 'antlnuclear antlbodles.‘

Which are basically attacking myjoints,

brain and liver.

And I'm In the early stages of cirrhosis and thyroldltls.

And osteoarthritis.

Emphasis on 'early stages.‘

When's the last time you heard of someone gettlng

clrrhosls from drinking water?

-They said It was from the water? -No, of course not.

Offlclally, they don't know the eeuse.

Yeah. Hell, they don't.

He thinks I'll be okay with a lot of treatment.

Adarn, this Is really plsslng me off.

Yeah, me too.

But, hey, what's the one thing we're good at when we're pissed off?

-Be|ng obnoxious? -Yes.

And you are very, very good at that.

I'm not an activist.

Okay, well, then just sit back and enjoy

cirrhosis and (STAMMERING) osteoarthritis...

BOTH: Osteoarthritis.

Come here.

ALL: Water Is a human right! Water Is a human right!

Water Is a human right! Water Is a human right.

Water Is a human right. Water Is a human right!

Sorry. Sorry, you all een't be here.

Yes, we een. This Is public property.

We een be here all day long If we want to!

Water Is a human right!

Hey, hey, hey, hey! I don't want to get you all arrested. Okay?

Why don't you just be on your way and head on back home.

We want answers and we deserve them.

Why are you selling us poison water? It's no good, and you all know It!

MAN: Yeah!

I'm not gonna say It again, you got to leave.

We want answers!

Look, I don't make the rules around here.

Okay, I'm just doing my job.

You should think about what you're doing.

Why do you want to stay here wavlng stupid slgns around, anyway?

Lady, nobody eeres.

Well, we'll make them eere!

Yeah? Really? I don't see no eemeras nowhere.

Hey! Hey! Hey, hey!

I hate math! I don't want to do it ever!

Okay. Hey, hey, hey. I'm here.

Don't make me do It!

-Okay. -I just hate It!

(SOBBING)

I don't want to do It!

We're flushing hydrants all over the city.

Don't worry, this Is all gonna be cleared up In a week.

'Lead'? You're testing for lead?

Oh, yeah, lead and copper, It's all standard.

(DOOR CLOSES)

You don't even need that parka, Adlna. It's not so cold.

Hey, you're right. Even smells like sprlng.

I knew I should've planted those crocuses.

ljust never got my energy back from last winter.

Getting old sucks.

You're not old, Morn.

I feel like hell.

You should try my diet.

Plstachlo Ice cream and onion rings Is not going to make me feel younger.

Yeah, you gotta admit, Jake's been pretty cool about everything.

Yeah, he's even thinking about getting ajob.

We're gonna get married, Morn. Everythlng's going to be totally...

'Leglt'?

What, you think I don't listen to you all with your little slang?

'Totes. Leglt.'

Totes leglt'? Oh, my goodness.

(LAUGHS)

I don't know what to say.

I'm already at 10 weeks.

I know. And I een't even Imagine

how you must be feeling right now.

What happened?

I really don't know.

But you said everything looked fine. You said the baby looked great!

We een go through a very late D and C

since he's still just the size of an orange.

It's a fast, It's a simple procedure...

(CRYING)

Honey, It's going to be all right.

We're going to get through It. I'm right here. Okay?

I'm so sorry.

(CRYING)

What did I do wrong?

You ain't do anything wrong, baby.

I wanted that baby, Mama.

But you're still young.

Aln't nothing that say that you een't try again.

And should you decide to try It with someone other than Jake,

I fully support that, too.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean that.

Just joklng.

No, I think you meant that, Morn.

I was just seared you were too young

and Jake couldn't handle the responsibility. That's all.

I wanted that baby for you, too.

Of course I did.

Hey, the doctors at your office ever say anything about the drinking water?

The water? Not that I know of.

May I come In? I need to test your water again.

Yeah. Sure. Sure.

Test It again? Why?

Well, your lead and copper number eeme In at 104.

I'm sure there's no prize for that. What are they supposed to be?

Not over 15. Not over 15 parts per billion.

Your lead numbers are seven times higher than that.

What does that mean?

Well, It means I have to do more tests to make sure It's not a mistake.

In the meantime, just don't let your kids drink It.

Okay.

No cooklng, no brushlng teeth, no shower, no dlshes.

Well, that sounds just fantastic.

And you should probably flush It for at least 25 minutes

before any other usage.

Well, what does that do?

Mlght flush out whatever's leechlng the lead.

Well, that's good.

Clean water! We want clean water now!

NAYYIRAH: All over town we were flndlng each other.

Wlth the same atorlee, the same health leauee.

The same auaplclona.

What's In our water? We want a public meeting.

We een't let this continue,

this Is our health and our lives. Look at this.

These are clty llnes.

For a lot of us water's coming to our houses through these.

The Mayor has to see us.

Yeah, It's easier to get to see the Pope.

Hey, llsten. My place just tested 104 for lead.

-Dld you say 104? -Yeah.

Llsten, the city's own utllltles manager

had never seen a number like that.

I mean, nobody has. It's like...

LEEANNE: I've been In and out of doctors offices

for the past four months.

My eyebrows are practleelly gone. Look at that. That's a makeup job.

-You? -Yeah. Hair loss, too.

I got rashes, vomltlng, allergles, seizures, those are fun.

Yeah. I got awhole laundry list.

I didn't thlnkthat lead was an Issue though.

I mean, you're saying your water's discolored

but ours ls coming out pretty clear.

This Is the thing, Is that

when we moved to Fllnt back In 2011,

our house was one of those that was boarded up.

You know, they took everything. Totally stripped It.

So we had to redo a lot from scratch.

And one of the things that we had to redo was the plumbing.

Holy. Some douche eenoe took your plumbing?

-Yeah. -Oh, my God.

You know, for the scraps.

So, we put In all new plpes. Brand new.

Plastic.

Plastic doesn't leach lead.

So they're what, eerrylng Flint River water that's already contaminated?

Yeah, and they put It rlght Into our tap.

At least, that's what I think. You know, I don't have any proof.

LEEANNE: Okay. It's okay. It's okay. Got It. I know.

We'll eel! you as soon as we have the results, ma'am.

That's okay. We're gonna walt.

It could be a few hours.

Yeah, I said, we're gonna walt.

-What do we want? -ALL: Clean water!

-When do we want It? -Nowl

REPORTER: Slnce the source of Fllnt's drlnklng water

was moved from Lake Huron to the Fllnt Rlver

there have been protests throughout Fllnt

about the quallty of the water.

The mayor of Fllnt, Dayne Walllng, clalms the water ls safe

and that the problem Is locallzed and exaggerated.

It's your standard tap water,

you can taste a llttle of the chlorlne, but It's safe to drlnk.

l thlnk It's just a matter of perceptlon.

lfy famlly and l, we drlnk and use It every day.

REPORTER: And the governor ls aware of Fllnt's water problems?

We've been In touch, of course, and hls offlce has assured me

that Fllnt's water system Is produclng water

that meets all state and federal standards.

PROTESTERS: No justlce, no peace! No justlce, no peace!

(DOG BARKING)

What happened?

My kids. It's just...

I had my klds' lead levels tested and...

And?

The average kld In Amerlee has a blood level of 2.

Anythlng over 5 Is poison.

Gavln's ls 0.5.

That's lead poisoning.

You know, and the Mayor ls out there on TV,

drinking water, telllng everybody It's safe!

Lead's a neurotoxln that een eeuse permanent brain damage!

Garrett ls acting out.

He has these spurts of anger and...

NAYYIRAH: Hey! Hurry up, before I forget everything.

HI. Thank you for having us. So nice.

HI, I'm Nayylrah. Mellssa. HI.

Nice to meet you. This Is Clalre.

HI. Clalre. Nice to meet you. Mellssa.

CLAIRE: Hey, good to see you again. HI. So nice to see you.

Come on In. Come on In.

Okay.

Okay. Eat.

-Corn or wheat? -Wheat.

(GROANS) Damn.

No gluten for me. Not anymore.

Same for me. And I gotta be low sodium and lactose free. It sucks.

In eat It all.

Thanks.

So I spent the morning with

a Mechanleel Englneerlng professor at Kettering.

And she lald It all out for me.

Okay, do we need PhDs to understand this, beeeuse If we do...

No, no. But we need as much education on plumbing as possible.

(LAUGHS)

You okay?

Focus. Yeah, I'm all right, ljust...

-(RETCHES) -Nayylrah.

You okay? Everything all right?

NAYYIRAH: Yeah. Just give me a sec.

Well, this Is our lives now.

We get up, have our breakfast, brush our teeth,

listen to music, surfthe net,

then dash to the bathroom to vomit our guts out.

This has got to stop.

What Is all of that?

Oh, urn...

Prednlsone and Tylenol.

Llslnoprll and Hydrochlorothlazlde, for the kidney damage.

Metroprolol and Neurotnln for the seizures.

And guess what?

Side effects Include muscle cramps, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness.

-CLAIRE: You all right? -Yeah.

Where was I?

Okay, okay basleelly, this Is what I was saying.

This country ls sitting on, like, 1.3 million anclent lead service lines.

If you run just any old water through them, without, llke, protection,

the water will pretty much take anything In those plpes

right along for the ride, stralght Into our taps.

Okay, what's this 'protectlon'?

Water treatment. It's eelled Corrosion Control.

And we have that?

Yeah. I don't know exactly what we're using or how much,

but I do know that every city has to have It.

So, Corrosion Control coats the lnsldes of old plpes,

so that when they have to pump disinfectants,

llke chlorine or ammonia, Into the system to kill bacteria...

And E. coil.

Exactly. Corrosion Control stops

those disinfectants from eating through the metal.

It stops them from releaslng lead and Iron and copper

and all that, you know, stuff, Into our water.

Then why do my kids have lead poisoning?

Well, remember last year

when they told us to boil the water to k!!! the E. coil?

Yeah.

Bolllng only concentrates the lead In the water more. nght?

Yeah.

Okay, okay.

So, we either drlnk deadly bacteria

or we drink brain-damaging lead?

It's ridiculous that anyone would think that that river would be okay to drink.

The ear Industry and the plants have been dumping chemleels

Into that water for a century!

And then there's the sewage, and the road salt...

Yeah. They've even found a couple of bodies.

Yeah, but that doesn't actually matter.

That's what the water treatment facilities are supposed to handle.

They treat the water at the beginning. At the source.

With this 'Corroslon Control'?

Yes.

So then that should have been the end of It?

Yeah.

Then what's going on?

We got to find out.

(SIGHS)

I've been getting a lot of complaints about the water from my constituents.

The smell, the taste, the color.

It's come up In councll time and time again

that using the river water In the Interim

hasn't been the kind of quality that we've had before.

-Yeah. -Absolutely rlght.

For sure.

Therefore, the council has voted on the matter.

(COUGHS)

It Is the council's declslon seven to one

to return to Detroit Lake Huron

as the city's main water source Immediately.

Yes! Thank you!

Mr. Ambrose, w!!! you review the council's declslon?

I will. It's an lncomprehenslble declslon.

Going back to Detroit water will cost this already broke clty

tens of millions of dollars that we don't have.

-What do we do In the meantime? -Look, I'm reallstlc.

Thls city's on the verge of financial disaster

ever since many of the ear plants closed down.

We need to make some aggresslve

and radleel decisions about how to save money.

nght. lee making us drlnk poison? Is that what you're talking about?

To save Fllnt we have to save money. Detroit water ls simply too expensive.

As the appointed emergency manager,

I herewith overrule the council's declslon.

Hey! Hey, llsten! If GM een pull out of this, why een't we?

-That's apples and oranges. -No!

Just beeeuse there's a few Isolated eases

-doesn't mean It's a cltywlde problem. -lsolated eases?

Listen. My son has been diagnosed with lead poisoning!

Our halr ls falling out! We are sick, nauseous every day!

Have you even looked at these? Or are you just trying to save money?

Now, wait a minute. It wasn't my decision

to disconnect from Detroit water.

That was a longstanding plan that was meticulously budgeted out,

approved by this council.

No, no. We never agreed to use Flint River water!

We agreed to the KWA Plpellne!

And while we build the KWA Plpellne,

we switched to Flint River water as a temporary cost saving measure.

Now, look, we een't have a bunch of housewives taking on our experts!

Excuse me?

And when someone wants to make a point, they dump some tea bags In the water.

What? Come on!

Hey, hey! Excuse me? Slr, did you just eel! me a liar?

And stupid? Where are your experts?

MELISSA: Nobody's dunking tea In the water, that's rldlculous!

Llsten, we eennot trek back and forth to the store for bottled water!

-Look, look! -Every day!

You're broke! Your clty ls broke!

There's nothing else I een do.

What'd you expect? It's a reelection year for the Mayor.

Can he do that?

He's not gonna side with us beeeuse we don't have a say.

He just wants to play hooky with the Governor.

Look, they een all try and shut us up. But I know what I know.

Look, I've been worried from the start. Since we switched to the river water.

Keep flghtlng, lady. Ladles.

We will. Thank you.

(DOORBELL RINGS)

-Mrs. Walters? -Yeah.

Mlguel Del Toral from the EPA.

We spoke on the phone.

Yeah. Hey. You're our lead and copper expert!

In the flesh. Never seen anyone get so excited about seeing me before.

Well, you know what, I'm just glad that you actually made It out here.

Chicago's right around the corner. This Is my job.

So when the city eeme out to test, what was their procedure?

hey told me not to keep the water stagnant for more than eight hours.

They eepped It?

They said otherwise, It dlsquallfled the results.

And then they flushed It for 25 minutes before they took a sample.

I have one of those test bottles. That's what they used.

Okay, you keep saying that a lot.

It's a very small bottle openlng. Yeah.

If It's that small, you have to run the water really slowly.

Now slow flow doesn't really eepture a realistic sltuatlon.

What do you mean?

I like to eel! that a loop hole.

-For what? -For passlng Inspections.

-Hey, een I ask you something? -Sure.

What sort of Corrosion Control Is the city uslng?

Do you know what that Is?

Yeah. It's a coating on the Inside of the pipes

so that they don't leach copper and lead Into the water.

You should be doing my job.

But, yes, the MDEO told me they had a program In place.

Is It effective?

I'm not sure. That's why I'm here, doing the test.

You don't come out to most people's homes, do you?

So, why'd you come to mine?

Those were some seery numbers. I kind of had to see It for myself.

Yeah.

Look, I don't know how to say this, so I'm just gonna say It.

I don't think the city's going to own up to anything.

-They have to! -It doesn't even matter If you're right.

They have to! They have to put offlclal warnlngs out there

for families that don't even know this Is going on!

But you're not experts.

You're not sclentlsts. And you're not polltlclans.

I shouldn't have to be.

Llsten, just beeeuse we don't have college degrees

and we're not pulllng In blg paychecks, doesn't mean that we're stupid.

This Is Important.

I know It Is. But I think you're wasting your time.

GROCER: Sorry. Next delivery will be on Tuesday.

I don't know. Maybe you're right.

-NAYYIRAH: Tuesday? -That's our delivery schedule.

You need to ratlon out that water and stop hlklng up the prices!

I don't make those rules, ma'am.

We een't stop people from buying the water

If that's what they want to do.

So we're supposed to just drink the polluted stuff?

Is that what you're saying?

I'm saying, If we don't have water,

there's another store that probably does.

I'm telling y'all, It's summertime,

and we're all gonna be fighting over these jugs.

I've almost gotten used to making my kids pasta with bottled water.

This Is It. This Is our 'new normal.‘

You know, we drink bottled water,

we take showers at our frlends' houses that live outside of town.

The doctors' bllls.

I mean, we have been at this for six months

and I feel like we just have to get our lives back!

Nobody knows and nobody eeres.

lthlnk...

-I think I'm done. -But we een't stop.

We stop, they win.

NAYYIRAH: She's rlght.

You don't know what It means to persevere untll

you have got to persevere.

Did you just come up with that?

(LAUGHING) I did. I don't know.

It's good. It's good. I liked It.

I like It. I think It's real, It's catchy.

Llsten, I'm an Army brat, okay.

My dad was a drill sergeant. You're married to an Army guy.

You know. We don't cry. We punch something, but we don't cry.

Look, you thought It was a sprint, but It's not.

NAYYIRAH: This Is a marathon.

You In or you out?

-l'm In. -Yes!

Yes! That's It.

(DOOR OPENS)

We need copies of Fllnt's water quality reports from 2013 to today.

I'm sorry. I'm not authorized to release the...

Oh, yes, you are.

Those are public records that the city ls required to make available

to anybody who wants to see them.

My mom wants to see them.

I don't have that kind of time.

If you don't make the time, I am going to get real cranky.

Women. Every month!

Excuse me?

There are thousands of reports.

I know. They are going to be filled with Information.

NAYYIRAH: To be honest when we first started looklng at these reports,

we dldn't know what we'd flnd.

Look, I'd like to have a ear there.

Okay. No, the timing of It's fine. I'm fine with the time.

I just wanted to know. No, that'll work for me.

If you een make that work on your side, that's great.

I'd like to see Mayor Walllng.

I'm sorry. He's not In the office right now.

That Is bullshltl ljust saw him walk In here!

He's In a meeting.

He's In a meeting?

Okay, you tell him that Miguel Del Toral

from the EPA personally eeme out to my place

and tested the water for lead concentration.

It eeme back twice as toxic as hazardous waste!

Okay, my son

You tell the Mayor that he needs to figure out

what he's going to do to keep my children safe.

Thank you.

This Is for you.

What's this?

It's a standard agreement,

so we een get started on your city plpellne replacement. For free.

Once you sign, we take eere of the $1,100 cost Incurred.

Waiver?

No, no, no. This Is...

No, this Isn't why I'm here. It's not about the money.

I just... I want to know what you're going to do to protect my family!

Okay. We een't start on the work until you sign this

and It would be In the best Interest of your family If you did.

MELISSA: This Is just a waiver.

This says that they're not responsible for any harm

that may have been taking place In the past or will be In the future.

LeeAnne, If you sign this, you'll get a free new city service line,

but then they're off the hook.

You'll be signing your rights away

for something they have to take eere of anyway.

I'm so sick of this.

-Thls ls nlce. -Is It?

'Cause If I never ever have to compare MCLGs and MCLs agaln,

It wouldn't be soon enough.

No, lt'sjust that I'm usually at the bullhorn on my own.

It gets a bit lonely.

Where Is that Corrosion Control... The othophosphate.

What's up?

I een't find It. I een't find the orthophosphate numbers for 2014.

I have 'em for 2013.

Lake Huron water was definitely treated, but It was treated by Detroit.

So since the date of the switch,

there's no records about Corrosion Control.

We have no Corrosion Control?

Oh, my God.

They are not treating water that Is llke

20 times more corrosive than Detroit water ever was.

That een't be right. There's gotta be a mistake.

There's gotta be something they're treatlng our water with!

No, no, that's It.

That Is the reason that we are all being poisoned.

Beeeuse these guys wanted to do

everything on the cheap from beginning to end.

Wow. Just... Wow.

You know when people say they find a 'smoklng gun'?

I think we just found ours.

Okay, what do we do with It?

(SIGHS)

I think I know who to sell.

They lied to me.

Who?

The MDEO! Can you believe It?

The water plant has no Corrosion Control!

Which Is mind boggling, considering the whole city's piped with lead!

Whole clty? How do you know that?

I've been talking to the residents.

The soccer moms?

Well, those 'soccer moms' are better Investigators than anyone I know.

All right, stand up straight. Here we go.

Okay. You are 51 Inches.

-Garrett grew two Inches. -Yeah.

Hey, llsten, that Is good water. Okay? I promise you.

That Is fresh, It Is right from a Colorado sprlng

and then stralght Into our tub. Okay?

-I haven't grown? -Llsten, klddo. Look at me.

We are going to make them pay for that bad water. You got It?

You're seery, Mommy.

Am I? Good. All right let's go. Get In the tub, guys. Come on.

So ljust burst It, and then this one guy who's faster than me,

and I like, tipped It and then I got It with two hands

and ljust burst It Into the touchdown zone.

-You got It? -Yes!

-Beauty. -There you go, buddy.

-Dld you win? -Yeah.

Of course!

Hey, Mom, I got to show you something.

I've been staying late at work for a month so nobody would notice

but these are copies of blood work reports for kids

that were brought In for lead poisoning. They're kind of seery.

-You een get fired for that. -I know.

Do you think you could show these to Dr. Mona?

Morn, lead poisoning een lead to mlseerrlages. nght?

Yeah, and a long time ago,

women were given lead pills to control their family size.

Wait, to abort?

I'm just saying, It wouldn't be nothing new.

So, what happened to Jake? Have you two been In touch?

He ghosted rne.

I don't know, maybe he was just waiting around for the baby to come.

Adlna, my darling,

I know I must biased but he didn't deserve you.

I love him.

lza! It's been forever! How on Earth have you been?

Stlll breathing... I'll be better If you give me that 85 you owe me.

Girl, you know own me that $5. I'm gonna charge you Interest, too.

Yeah, right. nght. Next time. Is she here?

Yeah, she's expecting you. Go on In.

Okay.

You never noticed more of the kids had rashes, dlarrhea, vomltlng...

No, I'm supervlslng, I don't deal with patients as much anymore.

Well, doesn't Hurley have a central blood test system for the children?

Yes. Why?

There's been some problems with the drinking water.

I think It's lead. I have proof...

No, It's okay.

All the children that go through our system

get a blood test automatleelly that Includes lead levels.

Can you access that system?

Yes, ljust have to find those numbers and do some math...

40% of the kids we see live below the poverty line.

And you're telling me they put lead In their water?

That's exactly what I'm telling you.

(SIGHS)

So, you'll look Into It?

Look, Dr. Mona, I know! like to joke, and I'm not an alarmist.

But If what I'm thinking ls right... This ain't good.

I een get you box seats any time.

Oh, yeah? I might take you up on that. That would be fantastic.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, they're really good.

Hov. guys-

Hey, something for me, Mlke?

In a way. I have to go over these with Stephen...

-Well, go ahead. -Nlce to see you.

About the tests the MDEO asked me to submit...

Yeah?

Well, here's the thing... We got In a bit of a snag.

The service line records are useless...

They're handwritten. Basleelly, we don't have a database.

So we tested as many as we could.

And how many Is that?

Seventy-one. Should be 100.

Seventy-one's not bad. Could be the new hundred.

They weren't all hlgh-rlsk homes.

Well, we don't need that. We need a cross section.

Well, that's true...

But, there's no way to verify that they're all lead service lines.

Can you verify that they aren't?

Well, no. Not unless we dig them up.

That's not really an option. So... We're good?

Only If I take out the highest two samples.

Well, If there's only two then they're probably anomalies.

nght...

So, we're In compliance?

Yes... Just...

You don't worry, Mlke, this Is all gonna work out. Okay?

We're gonna keep monitoring the situation.

So... Submit this report?

Absolutely. It's good work.

HI. Thank you so much for meeting me here.

Always a pleasure.

Okay, so how's the EPA been treating you?

They wanna handle the matter Internally.

You know, talk to the State-level guys

and see If they'll flx It.

What did they say about 'Corroslon Control'?

That there must have been a mix-up, some sort of mlscommunlcetlon

and that I'm overreactlng.

Are you?

Not a chance.

Okay.

You'll love this guy, he's a top water expert In the country.

The thing about lead ls,

If you're not looking for It, you won't find It.

Our bodies think It's eelclum, but It's not.

It's poison that een be absorbed simply by touch.

And lead poisoning eeuses lrrevoeeble damage.

TIME magazine eelled him 'The Plumbing Professor.‘

But... By 1010, when we figured all this out, It was too late.

Lead pipes were already In the ground. So what do we do now?

We pray?

It's not a question of 'll" lightning strikes.

It's when and where.

Now, we've fought the authorities and

I think every protocol at the EPA for,

for years, to replace all lead service lines In D.C.

Five years of wading through thousands of emails,

piecing together data, congressional lnvestlgatlons...

Five years of hundreds of children drinking water

wlth unacceptable lead levels. Change...

Change Is expensive and terrifying.

I wrote the memo a while ago but the EPA hasn't responded yet.

I don't think It's just a couple of homes.

Without Corrosion Control,

It's gonna be widespread.

And every day that goes by, another child ls drinking that crap!

We need someone on the outside to test the water.

You know, somebody who has nothing to gain or lose,

regardless of the results.

That's where you come In.

Well, I want to help. I mean, you know, of course I do. But...

Not a cheap operation.

I'll have to apply for a grant. Which, may take a while

to cut through the red tape and push It through the system.

My son's blood lead levels were through the roof.

He loves swimming, but he has not been In a pool for over a year.

Okay, okay.

I'll do whatever I een. But It's neverjust about water.

And It's always...

-About polltles. -About polltles.

We're going to start. If everyone could please take their seats.

That would be great.

First of all, I wanna thank everyone for coming today.

Over the past few months there's been a lot of concerns about the water.

And we have Stephen Busch here

today from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

And, we're hoping that he'll clear up some of these Issues. Stephen?

Thank you, Mayor. First of all, the good news.

Since last year's rounds of monitoring,

we have balanced the chemleels In the water to safe levels.

It's not chemleels, you jackass. It's lead.

(CROWD APPLAUDING)

Is there still a risk in the short-term

with exposure to some of these chemleels?

Well that... That's up to you. It's an Individual thlng.

You should consult with your doctors

and after that you een make the judgment.

Is It me or did that just make no sense whatsoever?

How Is this an 'lndlvldual thlng'?

It's not you.

Some of the cloudiness that's coming from your taps,

some of the water bottles I'm seeing,

that's probably from other materials coming off your plpes.

It's lead!

Water professionals are dealing with this all over the country.

It's notjust here In Fllnt.

You wanna drink this crap? Take a sip! Be my guest!

That's right! You drink It. You drink It!

If everyone could just eelm down.

Let's stay eelm, all right? We're just trying to figure out the facts...

You're telling us that everything okay. I'm telling you It's not okay!

Not okay.

There've been studies on eencer and tap water,

30, 40-year studies, and that's where our standards have come from...

Nothlng's changed In 30 or 40 years?

Someone has to study what's going on with you and your water supply.

Okay, who's going to pay for that? The city needs to do that!

We need the federal government's help!

Just get alternative water.

Are you going to supply that for us?

From where? From where?

If this was a rich community we wouldn't even be here! It'd be fixed!

I II bullshit! Bullshltl

That's right. That's right.

Hey, hey! We have a list of doctors,

we have a list of ailments. We have photographs of our rashes.

We're paying the bill!

Why didn't we have a say In what system Is delivering our water?

We have gone over this, and the water experts have said so, too.

Oh, my God...

We have conducted all necessary tests,

and though there are households that have older,

therefore more affected service lines,

the city has clearly passed every test this year...

We don't need to test! We know there's a problem!

Yeah, that's right.

-We decided to... -Come on!

-We decided to build... -The decision to build the KWA plpellne

was so that our costs wouldn't go up as fast...

That plan did not work.

Just please! Sit down. Okay?

Just sit down.

Excuse me. Mr. Mayor,

I think that the people here feel that their lives,

their bodies and their well-being has been compromised.

Yes! Yes!

(CROWD CLAPPING)

Thank you.

We're a community that Is not merely concerned. We're angry.

Yes.

That's right.

Yes, we are.

I, for one, am sick that we even baptize chlldren

In our Church with that water before we knew anything about It!

That's right.

Look, wejust... Please, just...

We'll stick to the agenda, all right. We're talking about affordability.

We are following the agenda! We've been sitting here,

listening to all of your excuses.

We do not want any more excuses! Okay?

No more excuses! We want some answers!

No more excuses! No more excuses!

Give us some answers!

(CROWD CLAPPING)

She's right. We need answers. For this...

I'm seared of what's happening here.

And my daughter was 10 weeks pregnant when she mlseerrled.

That kid was wanted. It was already loved.

but this Is not the forum to be making accusations...

Now, you been telling us that the elderly and pregnant women

shouldn't drink the water back since In January.

Now, that's not an accusation, that Is a fact.

-Yeah! That's right. -That's fact.

Who else got that flyer?

Ma'am! I'm going to have to ask you to sit down...

And you send out a flyer for something this serious? Shame on you!

Now elther you're lying to us

or you're completely Incompetent. Which one Is It?

MELISSA: Completely Incompetent.

Yeah.

And we love this damn clty, rlght?

I mean, we eel! ourselves Flintstones.

But how much of your excuses you think we een take?

Let me ask you something, Mr. Emergency Manager,

are you going to tell my 24-year-old daughter

that she'll have no problem with another pregnancy?

Can you make that promise to any woman In this room?

LEEANNE: nght? You have nothing to say, rlght?

Beeeuse as soon as we eel! you out on your lies,

It gets damn good and quiet In here, huh?

Real good and quiet In here.

Bunch of damn liars! A bunch of liars!

You know good and damn well there's lead In this water.

Whatever happened to 'what's done ls done,' Morn?

We're gonna have to change that to 'It ain't done tlll It's done.'

That's right.

I'm heading off. Good night.

Samantha, how do I see If one of my reports has been opened?

Check the receipts section.

Yeah. They got It, and opened It. So, looks like they read It.

Of course. And, deafenlng sllence.

See you In the morning.

Good night.

Awoman in Flint named LeeAnne Walters

just forwarded rne

an Internal memo that you wrote to your superiors at the EPA.

She says that you cc'd her on It?

Yeah, that's all true.

Well this data ls extraordinary.

You're saying that their water ls offlclally toxic waste?

And Mrs. Walters' home could be a eenary In a coal mine.

Can I print that?

Put It on a mural.

I een take the heat. I'm not afraid of It.

INTERVIEWER: I'm here wlth Stephen Busch,

from the Department of Envlronmental Quallty.

There are concerns of a cover-up.

Concerns that have been brought to light

by the ACLU about water pollution.

Look, our spokesperson has said that anyone

who Is concerned about lead In the drinking water In Fllnt een relax.

We have stated this on the record...

Come on!

There Is no cover-up, and our tests show the problem Is not widespread.

So what about the cases that have rung alarm bells?

We're looking Into that. And I have to reiterate that,

as far as we een tell, these eases remaln Isolated.

But Isn't that slmply because you haven't

yet conclusively tested cltywlde?

We're following protocol and still testing.

And I really don't thlnk there's a... (RADIO POWERS OFF)

Enough of that bullshlt.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Hey, Curt. Good news on the Flint story.

It's about time the media got Involved.

All thanks to you and Miguel.

How's Iflguel dolng?

You didn't hear?

No, what?

He's unreachable. There's no more excluslves.

EPA offlclals just say he's been "handled. "

What, they put him on a leash?

Yeah, he's off the ease.

I guess you don't send around unauthorized memos

and eel! supposedly okay water 'hazardous waste.'

So, what's happenlng wlth that emergency grant you applled for?

When would that come In?

I don't know... As soon as I hear something deflnlte,

you'll know about It.

Okay.

(PEOPLE CHANTING)

I was scratching so hard, I had bruises on my arms and legs.

You know what the doctor said? He said, 'Are you sure It's not psychosomatic?‘

'Psychosomatlc.‘

Walt, they all think we're going coo-coo.

We moved to Flushing. And guess what?

This Is the flrst week Dexter hasn't broken out.

Flrst week he ain't reeklng, elther.

(ALL LAUGHING)

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Hi, this Is LeeAnne. Who's this?

Professor Edwards, Vlrglnla Tech.

I got the grant approved for the Independent testing of your water.

That's good news! That's such good news!

Okay, why do you still sound so nervous?

So If we een get 300 samples spread out over the city,

we'd get a handle on how bad the situation ls.

But In order to get It done right, there Is a catch...

What's the catch?

The grant doesn't really cover manpower,

golng door to door... Baslcally, dlstrlbutlon and collectlon.

I'll need volunteers. Lots and lots of volunteers.

What do you think?

You know... If there's anything this town has, It's flghtln' splrlt.

I'm trying to think If there's anything else I'm missing.

Sorry? Hey, guys. Okay.

Professor, this Is all of them here.

Okay good. Good job, Danlel.

So, now usually, I get back a ratio of 25%.

But If I een get seventy klts back here, I'll be very happy.

Seventy? Out of 300?

You're, you're gonna get all the kits back.

Okay, If you say so.

No, no. Seriously. You will get all of these kits back.

Yeah, great. Now where Is all my volunteers?

(SIGHS)

I don't know. I put out the word out.

Maybe they got eeught In trafflc.

Or maybe theyjust suck.

'Maybe theyjust suck.‘ Okay.

Well, look who I found waiting around In the pews upstairs.

(LAUGHING)

Next time you want your volunteers to find you

and not the Lord our Savior, give 'em clearer Instructions!

Basement. Basement. Church basement.

Maybe I forgot that part. Lead water. I've been drinking the water.

Hay SWI- Hey. hey. hey! Yeah, over here.

Come on In!

Yeah, come on, guys. I got reinforcements!

All right!

Thanks for coming.

Come on, guys, don't be shy. Come right up.

Listen up, everybody! You're all going to get a list of addresses.

You een give one kit to every address

but please make sure an adult understands the Instructions.

You have to make sure you talk to someone. Okay?

You don't just want to leave the kit on the doorstep and then walk away.

A lot of people might think It's still all right.

I mean, If the Mayor's drinking the water...

No, no, no, no. It Is not all right.

It's nasty and It's making us slck, none of us should be drinking It.

Have faith. The Lord has healed before and he'll do It agaln.

Amen. All right everybody, come on.

Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

Come on up. Grab as many boxes as you een. Come on, come on.

Let's go, guys.

Everyone, grab as many as you een hold.

My God, you did It.

I didn't do anything. We all did It.

Wait a minute, aren't you leaving?

Why? Where are you going?

It's our anniversary. We were gonna go to Cedar Point.

'Were' gonna go?

Yeah. I had Adarn eencel.

Wait a minute, but It's your annlversary!

Yeah, I know but we have one every year.

It's kinda sorta more Important that I stay here this weekend.

All right, I totally I agree.

Beeeuse we een't do this without our best flghter.

Adam already knows l'm cheating on him

with all of you guys. He thinks It's hot.

Of course he does.

Good job. Thank you.

(SONG PLAYING) Dlrty water

l aln't drlnklng no more

l aln't drlnklng no more

You can serve your dlrty water from a golden cup

You can try to lock up the truth but the door won't shut

'Cause the truth just comes out

lee lead from a plpe

Dlrty water

That words can't wash

Dlrty water

All the Instruction are lnslde. We'll be back to pick It up. Thanks.

Hey, Adlna!

Hey.

I got ajob.

Yeah. I een see that. Congratulations.

I haven't heard from you In a while.

Yeah. I know. lwas... I was a bit... Outta sorts.

Really?

Beeeuse... I had to pick up all the pieces

and put them back together,

by myself.

But you? You vanlshed.

I'm sorry. Okay?

I knew that you were upset... And I...

I figured somehow seeln' me around might make It worse.

Look...

Can I maybe eel! you sometime?

Don't look at me. It's your blscults.

Sometime soon.

Okay.

Okay. Okay.

(ELECTRONIC WHIRRING AND BEEPING)

Two hundred and seventy-seven samples. That's over 00%.

Yeah. That's unprecedented.

What do we do with the results?

Those are extraordinarily high.

We need to eel! everyone with elevated lead levels In their house.

-Now? -Yeah.

-There's a lot of them... -No, now.

I mean, If your water lead levels were this high,

wouldn't you wanna know as soon as possible?

-Yeah. Come on. -Let's go.

Just run It agaln.

MONA: I have compared chlldren's blood lead levels

from their medleel records

In our hospital flles. Since the City of Flint stopped using

Detroit water and started drawlng water from our loeel rlver,

the percentage of Flint Infants and children

with above average lead levels

has nearly doubled.

Oh, my God!

And It has nearly trlpled amongst children In high-risk areas.

We strongly recommend to limit further exposure.

For Infants on formula, no tap water.

Lead clearlng filters are a good Idea,

more public education Is needed,

and we would advocate for a reconnection

to a Lake Huron water source.

-Yes! -(CROWD CLAPPING)

This Is Fllnt's untreated water.

It's basleelly dlslntegratlng the nail.

Fllnt's water ls doing the same thing to distribution plpes all over the city.

Here, just take a look, pass It around.

Fllnt Is the only city In this country that we know of

that does not have a Corrosion Control plan In place.

How is that decision being rationalized?

That's horrlble. A dlsgrace!

Do you think I've been listening to the wrong people?

Or I just hear what I wanted to hear?

I don't know, slr. We should have been listening to those people out there.

They are responsible for a community.

They're getting paid. So they decide

they're gonna polson an entire city

and then they're gonna lie to us about It?

How dare they? Come on! Shame on them!

How do you feel now that people are finally llstenlng?

We're glad the tide ls turnlng, but we have a long way to go.

That's right.

How do you mean that?

Well, we need new service lines,

we need continuous testing, monitoring,

we need a support system for these kids that have been drinking this water.

Our trust In authority ls gone.

Yeah! Gone. Absolutely.

And It een't be fixed by the flip of a switch.

Yes. That's right.

Clean water now! Clean water now!

Clean water now!

There they are right there!

Mayor Walllng!

Mr. Glasgow? Mr. Glasgow...

Mayor Walllng! Mayor Walllng, just a moment, slr, please?

Please, slr. ljust have a couple of quick questions for you, sir.

I wonder If you een tell us how It was you were unable to determine

whlch homes had lead service lines and which ones dldn't?

Well, sometimes records get lost. So...

nght, so you didn't have all the records?

That's a possibility.

What about Corrosion Control? Did you know about that?

Yes, of course. State officials didn't think that that was necessary.

They said they'd do two rounds

of six-month lead and copper testlng Instead.

Did you tell them that?

I did. They didn't eere what I thought.

There never was a termination notlce

from Detroit, Isn't that right?

Look, we lnherlted this situation.

Our Public Works director said that there was over a billion dollars

In Infrastructure cost coming to Detroit

and that it wasn't sustainable for us...

I have a letter from the Emergency Manager.

Detroit dldn't klck Fllnt off Its system,

that Is a flat-out lle. Detroit offered Fllnt an Immediate 40% discount,

which would have been cheaper than anything

Fllnt would have gotten from the KWA.

I know that the state and our Public Works made evaluations

based on the best course of action for the City of Flint,

and that was the determination.

All the way to the Governor's office?

That's all I have to say about that.

So you're unsure how the Virginia Tech team got Its results?

I'm just saying we're not entirely surprised.

This particular team loves looking for lead Issues. It's what they do.

What about Dr. Hanna-Attisha's research

Into chlldren's blood lead level numbers?

I respect Dr. Hanna-Attlsha's work,

but she shouldn't have held a press conference

I'm not dlsmlsslve but our spokesperson says

thls whole controversy borders on near-hysterla.

So Is the State's data Inconsistent wlth hers?

Yeah, and the Department of Health and Human Services

said so publicly. So who would you believe?

What did they say?

The Governor called this his Katrina.

He admitted that some mistakes were made In the switch,

and that It was poorly planned.

And...

That things were not fully understood.

And?

There are plans to distribute thousands of water filters.

That's It?

Water fllters?

Excuse me? Fllters? Don't drink the water?

After all that? Come on!

You've gotta be kidding me!

LEEANNE: Okay, so that's It.

We're just have to live with the lead?

And just figure out some way to deal with It?

Llsten, all I gotta say ls,

If the country won't listen to a couple of white ladles,

God, I really wanna punch somethlng.

Don't look at me, Mellssa.

Oh, my God, I almost forgot. Thank God, I brought this.

Yeah. Great.

Oh, no, no, no. I don't drink.

-Why not? -l'm Muslim.

-Musl|m? -Yeah.

-Cool. -Well, I'm not Muslln so...

-Thls ls perfect. -F|l| me up.

Thanks.

You gotta like this potato salad.

We're moving.

What? Where?

Vlrglnla.

Dennls reenllsted for active duty.

And It's, It's just better for everybody. I...

Well, what about the house?

We're gonna keep It.

I mean, It's not like you een really sell a house In Fllnt right now.

It's about the kids, you know.

I want them to be able to wash their hands

with something other than hand sanitizer so...

If we could move, we all would.

But we're stuck.

Yeah, yeah. Great.

Get your ass on out of here. Just rlde off Into the sunset.

That's not fair!

I could not have done any of this without you. I know that.

Yeah, cool beans, whatever.

She just means she'll miss you.

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm gonna miss her, too.

Gonna miss you all.

Thank you.

Well, what did they say?

Dr. Eden Wells compared my analysis

against that of the state epldemlologlsts.

You know why they claimed the state's results were Inconsistent with mine?

Hit me.

The state's number Included kids from outside Fllnt!

Okay. So what does that mean?

It's confirmed! The state's own data analysts now conflrms all our numbers.

That's amazing. And terrlble.

Genesee County ls declaring a public health emergency.

So we did It. There's no way they een talk themselves out of this now.

I'm so relieved!

Thank you so much.

Is It weird to be celebrating a public health emergency declaration?

Yeah. It's a little weird...

Okay. Well, It's gonna have to be weird. It's gonna have to be weird.

(PEOPLE MURMURING)

NAYYIRAH: We'd already been let down by the state,

but now wlth the press behlnd us,

we knew we were belng heard.

The questlon on all our mlnds was whether the clty

could really lgnore our outcrles and a mountaln of evldence... Any longer.

Effective today, the City of Flint ls reversing the decision

of four emergency managers.

We fought back to get us on Detroit water.

The State's results confirmed that Fllnt's drinking water

was contributing to high lead levels, It made me furious.

This community was rightly outraged.

A group of cltlzen-heroes made sure this testing was done well

and done right.

The city could not have funded a better study of our water.

The City of Flint ls reconnecting to

Detroit's Department of Water and Sewerage

as the sole water source at 5:00 p.m. today.

Yes!

NAYYIRAH: It was our first vlctory.

And maybe In the scheme of thlngs It was a small vlctory but..

A vlctory all the same.

Late, but you're here! Hey!

What did I miss?

Fllnt's going back on Detroit water!

We did It! We freakln' did It!

It's about time! I thought they'd come up with another excuse not to!

Yeah. Thank you!

I've heard so much about you.

You are all lnsplrlng woman. A little stubborn...

You know, you're like the women with the vote...

Suffragettes?

Tip of my tongue!

Well, listen at least we didn't have to starve ourselves, huh?

They mlght've got the vote, but I don't think this Is over yet.

It's not gonna change overnight.

A lot of damage has been done.

Yeah, who knows how long that's gonna take to fix that so...

It's a flrst step. But we're not gonna qult now.

(LAUGHING)

ALL: (CHANTING) Nojustlce, no peace!

Flint lives matter! Flint lives matter!