The Flint Water Crisis and the Role of Professional Emergency Managers in Risk Mitigation

A federal emergency was declared in Flint, Michigan on January 16, 2016 because of elevated lead levels in the city drinking water system. Resulting from a number of technical mistakes and a lack of oversight by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, this crisis may have implications for the professional practice of emergency management. This paper explores the relationship between critical infrastructure and disaster theory, reviews the Flint crisis as a representative case study, and presents recommendations for emergency managers to begin to assess the drinking water systems within their own communities. As this is a still-evolving event, the discussion is based on the extent of the information available to both researchers and the public primarily as of late Fall, 2016. Future researchers will need to evaluate records from upcoming court proceedings and file additional FOIA requests after all subpoenas have been lifted in order to analyze how both a large public water system and a state government could allow the omission of corrosion control.

Investigation and control of a Norovirus outbreak of probable waterborne transmission through a municipal groundwater system

During March 2011 an outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred in Santo Stefano di Quisquina, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. Within two weeks 156 cases were identified among the 4,965 people living in the municipality. An epidemiological investigation was conducted to characterize the outbreak and target the control measures. A case was defined as a person developing diarrhea or vomiting during February 27–March 13, 2011. Stool specimens were collected from 12 cases. Norovirus (NoV) genotype GII.4 variant New Orleans 2009 was identified in stool samples from 11 of 12 cases tested (91.7%). Epidemiological investigations suggested a possible association with municipal drinking water consumption. Water samples from the public water system were tested for NoV and a variety of genotypes were detected during the first 3 months of surveillance, including GII.4 strains belonging to different variants from that involved in the gastroenteritis outbreak. Contamination of the well and springs supplying the public water network was eventually thought to be the source of the NoV contamination.

Temporal variability of disinfection by-products concentration in urban public water system

The occurrence of trihalomethanes (THMs) was studied in the drinking water samples from urban water supply network of Karachi city that served more than 18 million people. Drinking water samples were collected from 58 locations in summer (May-August) and winter (November-February) seasons. The major constituent of THMs detected was chloroform in winter (92.34%) and summer (93.07%), while the other THMs determined at lower concentrations. Summer and winter concentrations of total THMs at places exceed the levels regulated by UEPA (80 μg l-1) and WHO (100 μg l-1). GIS linked temporal variability in two seasons showed significantly higher median concentration (2.5%-23.06%) of THMs compared to winter.