This is the opinion of MLive Regional News Manager Bryn Mickle.

FLINT, MI -- Flint can't turn the calendar on 2016 fast enough.

But will 2017 be any better?

If history is any indicator, Flint's situation may only get worse if those guiding the water crisis recovery are not very careful.

It was nearly a year ago that the Flint water crisis exploded on the national scene.

The revelation that a disastrous water switch had poisoned countless households with lead grabbed headlines everywhere with the January declaration of an emergency here.

The National Guard was called in. Media outlets across the country parachuted in for a firsthand look at third-world type conditions in an American city. Presidential candidates began to reference Flint in stump speeches.

Even President Obama came in for a look and a sip of water.

There was a Congressional hearing, criminal charges and calls for federal aid that were not heeded until the year was nearly over.

But as 2016 heads into the history books, we are left wondering what the new year holds.

My biggest fear? Flint will once again become invisible.

It was in the 1980s that Flint found itself in a similar limelight as General Motors made massive cutbacks in the city that birthed it.

By the time Michael Moore documented the ensuing crime and poverty in "Roger & Me," Flint has become a cautionary tale of what happens when a city relies on one industry for survival.

Flint continued to fade from the national view, occasionally drawing interest when murder rates spiked or a serial killer was caught.

As Flint's money woes worsened, state lawmakers did little to help until the situation hit critical mass and the state took over -- relieving the city's residents of their democracy and paving the way for state-appointed managers to oversee the water switch.

The water crisis brought the city rushing back into the limelight for all the wrong reasons, but even that attention has mostly faded now.

Which brings us to 2017.

Will this be the year that residents can once again turn on the faucet without worry that what comes pouring out does not need a filter to be safe?

How will the city spend the $100 million in federal funds that have been earmarked for recovery?

What about the rest of the money that has been donated in hopes that Flint will get a fresh start?

Will President Trump follow up his bizarre visit to the city with a comprehensive plan to breathe new life into a community that has been beaten down for so many years?

And what of the children who unwittingly drank tainted water for many months, ingesting toxic lead that can destroy development of young minds? Will this be the year that we see more of those ill effects or will that be a hidden time bonb waiting to go off as these children grow up?

So many questions and so few answers.

No matter what, 2017 cannot be the year that Flint was allowed to become invisible again.