The city of Michigan will be paying a massive $600 million dollar settlement to those victimized by the Flint Water Crisis. The settlement is the result of a previous lawsuit launched by Flint residents in the midst of the crisis, which found thousands without potable water. Despite attention first being raised five years ago, the issue has yet to be resolved to this day; a video from CNN reveals the reality that Flint residents are still facing, whereupon dozens of cars are forced to line up for bottled water.
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Now that a settlement has been reached, perhaps some of the damage will be alleviated. CNN's report explains that the settlement will be distributed through a "court-monitored victim compensation fund," with over eighty-percent of the money being allocated to those under eighteen at the time of the crisis; the reason being that lead poisoning is particularly damaging to children, though it's likely some will question the decision to distribute settlement money to minors.
CNN has also shared excerpts from a press release, which breaks down the settlement as follows: "This partial settlement is the result of 5 years of litigation and 18 months of court-supervised negotiations. Interim Co-lead Counsel will continue to pursue claims against the remaining defendants on behalf of certain residents and local businesses in the City of Flint harmed by the water crisis."
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that the damage will simply disappear overnight. Despite Flint having returned to using Detroit's water system, there remains a palpable distrust toward the government that allowed this crisis to happen. Even now, bottled-water remains an integral means of cooking, cleaning, and hydrating -- a sad reality reinforced by the images of block-long car queues, eager to get their share. Hopefully, the settlement can play a role in mitigating some of the woes wrought by the Flint Water Crisis.
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