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Troubled Water

Jewish Flint residents work to help others avoid contaminated water.

J

oyce Labiner runs the water in her
Flint kitchen and sees a colorless liq-
uid. She is thirsty, but she has become
used to turning off the faucet and reaching
for yet another bottle of water delivered by
her daughter or a caring neighbor.
It took a bit of time for Labiner to get
into the burdensome and stressful routines
required to avoid ingesting unseen lead
seeping from corroded water pipes into city
households. Sometimes, arthritis makes
it difficult for her to open bottles, and she
reverts to tap water.
The 40-year city resident and her hus-
band, Eli, are homebound and listen to
news reports updating a nearly two-year
timeline in the developing crisis — starting
with the switch away from Detroit water
sourcing to Flint River sourcing and going
beyond the return to the Detroit supply last
fall, when government officials began to
admit to the dangerous tainting that con-
tinues from the improperly treated river
water.
The couple did not experience severely
discolored, distasteful, malodorous tap
water, but she has sensed a chemical taste.
She is glad her neighbor volunteered to
install a filter.
“My doctor tested my lead level and,
although it was fine, I think about what
might show up later,” says Labiner, who
cooks and washes with tap water. “I’m even
more worried about the children growing
up in Flint.”
The Labiners, members of Temple Beth
El in Flint Township (where the water is
safe), are among an estimated 200 Jewish
residents living in the city of Flint facing
the contamination and looking for relief.
The Flint Jewish Federation has begun

Joyce and Eli Labiner have lived in the city
of Flint for 40 years. Homebound now, they
try to use only bottled water.

12 January 28 • 2016

a campaign to help supply residents with
bottled water, filters and lead testing kits.
Staff members are collecting donations of
items and money — all to be turned over
to agencies in charge of distribution.
Steven Low, Federation executive
director and interim director of Jewish
Community Services (JCS), heads outreach
efforts. While JCS regularly offers trans-
portation to doctors’ appointments, Low
reports receiving one call to take someone
for water and expects more such calls as
home-delivered water is depleted.
“We have to be active in making things
right for the entire community,” Low says.
“Just days ago, we got a call from a major
bottled water distributor who wants to
help, and we’re very pleased about that.
Since the issue has been in the national
news, I’ve been getting calls from Jewish
individuals and groups around the country
asking about making donations.”
Help also is coming from Metro Detroit’s
Jewish community. (See sidebar.)
Low, who has been working in Flint for
about four years but lives outside the city,
drinks bottled water at the office, where
staff members have abandoned the cof-
feemaker connected to pipes and shifted to
making their coffee using bottled water.
Bottles contain brownish water drawn in Flint and clear water from Detroit.
“I was at a tribute dinner to honor the
The contamination is obvious.
memory of Martin Luther King Jr., and I
noticed how many people brought their
brown with noxious odors. She never expe- against officials charged with being respon-
own water to the Flint hotel where the
rienced rashes or other problems described sible for the contamination.
event was being held,” he says. “I was at
by some since lead was found.
“I’ve lost trust in officials who should
lunch at a Flint restaurant with a group
“At
first,
the
concern
was
bacteria,
but
have
been protecting us,” she says.
from Federation, and we were assured the
the
red
flag
for
lead
went
up
in
2014,
when
“Sometimes
I still reach for the tap.”
water was filtered but were offered bottled
General
Motors
stopped
using
Flint
water
Janis
Eisman,
who lives outside Flint,
water for anyone who wanted it.”
because
it
was
corroding
parts,
”
she
says.
works
with
husband,
Harvey, and son, Rob,
Jewish Community Services, which
“If
the
water
was
corroding
metal,
we
wor-
in
operating
Southfield
Gold & Diamonds
sponsors a communal meal program and
ried
what
it
was
doing
to
us.
”
and
National
Pawn
Brokers
Outlet, two
Meals-on-Wheels based at Temple Beth El,
Hanflik,
who
says
her
neighbors
have
adjacent
stores
in
Flint.
can accommodate Jewish and non-Jewish
“We are lucky because we never saw
Flint residents having critical problems get- had their water tested with results showing
lead
levels
three
times
higher
than
accept-
discoloration
in store water and have used
ting safe food. The program is under the
able,
wants
to
accelerate
solutions
through
tanks
of
delivered
commercial water for
direction of Susan Low.
her
continuing
membership
on
the
Tuuri
drinking
at
our
businesses
almost from the
Nancy Hanflik, who has lived in the city
Health
Advisory
Screening
Committee
of
beginning
25
years
ago,
”
Eisman
says. “Still,
since 1978 and has held membership in
the
Greater
Flint
Community
Foundation.
we
think
of
this
as
everybody’s
problem.
”
Temple Beth El and Congregation Beth
“We
had
been
focusing
on
When
the
Eismans
go
to
restaurants
in
Israel (also in Flint Township), uses
access to healthy food for those
Flint, they ask for bottled water, under-
bottled water for cooking as well as
whose
area
markets
had
closed,
”
standing that food preparation and cooking
drinking. She laments the burdens
she
says.
“We’re
now
probing
the
are done with tap water. They hope their
of having to pay water bills while
water
issues
and
looking
for
ways
lead exposure is at minimum.
buying safe water that needs to be
to
help
solve
the
problems.
”
“Everyone I know outside the area has
lugged and stored.
Hanflik
works
in
her
husband,
been
calling to ask about the water,” she
Although her home water looks
Henry’s,
law
office
where
they
says,
adding,
“I recall how we were noti-
clear now, she went through a time
both
keep
a
schooled
eye
on
class
fied
that
the
water
was safe [as people were
when the water flowed yellow and Nancy Hanflik
actions filed by other law firms
complaining.]”

ACLU of Michigan

Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer