Companies donate millions of bottles of water to US water crisis in Flint

World Today

A number of major U.S. corporations announced that they will donate millions of bottles of drinking water to a city in the midst of a contaminated water crisis in the U.S.

There has been a national outcry over the contamination of water in Flint, in the northern U.S. state of Michigan, that has drawn rebuke from even U.S. President Barack Obama.

CCTV America’s Roee Ruttenberg reports from Flint, the center of a water crisis that has gained national U.S. attention.

The joint announcement by beverage giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi, food maker Nestle, and retailer Walmart follows a mounting national campaign in support of Flint’s residents.

The city’s population of 100,000, including especially vulnerable children, has been struggling to get clean water to drink or even bathe with for more than a year.

In recent days, a growing number of American pop icons have pledged to help, sending thousands of bottles of water to Flint. The big corporations followed suit.

Flint resident Judy Sears says she is grateful to all of them. But some say: shipping bottles is just a short-term solution.

Flint’s water became contaminated when officials switched the source of water from a lake, about 150 kilometers away, to this local river. The water contained corrosive elements that caused lead in the pipes to leech into the water. The source has since been switched back, but experts say the damage appears to have already been done.

Tests show the water in Flint homes continues to have high levels of lead-and officials say it will take some time before it can be fully screened out.
That means bottled water will remain critical to residents for the foreseeable future.


Images from a meeting with the governor of Michigan, the Mayor of Flint, Michigan and the President of the NAACP
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