State of Michigan Proposes a $600,000 Deal To Compensate Resident Harmed By The Flint Water Crisis
(CBS Detroit ) - There's a new development in the Flint Water Crisis.
The State of Michigan is proposing a $600,000 deal to compensate residents of Flint harmed by lead-tainted water.
It follows more than a year and a half of negotiations.
The settlement still needs to be approved by a judge.
Craig Davis, lifelong Flint resident said, "It ain't worth nothing. Money doesn't equal health like, it doesn't. You could be rich and die. It ain't the same. "it's almost like we got PTSD with the water because we don't really drink it comfortably, like, you know what I'm saying when people actually lost their lives to it."
He's also a coronavirus survivor and says he and his neighbors are struggling to deal with both issues at the same time.
Craig said, "Now you got people who are taking extra money out of their pockets and going to the grocery store and buying up the water at the grocery store. But you add on the pandemic now everybody's grabbing water. Now the water's not even there to grab."
The water crisis started in 2014 when as a cost-cutting measure officials switched the city's water source from Lake Huron to the flint river. But the water was improperly treated allowing lead and other chemicals from the pipes to leach into the water supply.
The city switched back to its original water source in 2015.
CBS News was on the ground in Flint for months at the height of the water crisis. we heard first hand from parents how they believed the tainted water affected their children.
Although tens of thousands of plaintiffs are reportedly set to receive a payout as part of the settlement, much of the money is expected to go towards the children affected by the water crisis.
Sheldon Neeley, Mayor of Flint says he hopes this settlement provides some sense of victory for the families.
Neeley said, "It allows flint residents to move forward in a positive way, getting out of the mindset of being victims, but more as victors. and that's where we need to move as a community.
$600 million dollars may seem like a lot of money, but just for context, if you divide that by flint's residents, most of whom are eligible for payment, that's roughly $6000 per person.
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