The tap water in Flint, Mich. has become so contaminated that it now meets the EPA’s official definition of “toxic waste.”

It’s reportedly making people’s hair fall out and causing rashes. The full consequences of the crisis are yet to be seen—a generation of Flint children with lead poisoning may start to notice early symptoms in a few years, including behavior issues, problems with learning comprehension and ADHD, and continue to suffer from health issues the rest of their lives.

The water may even be linked to two outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, which killed 10 people in the Flint area. In response to the disaster, President Obama has declared a state of emergency.

And still, Flint residents are still being billed for the water that is making them sick. A class-action lawsuit has been filed by Flint residents asking that that water customers not be required to pay past or future bills, but as of now, the charges keep coming.

Three Flint residents shared their most recent monthly water bill with Upvoted. Here are their stories.

$109.88

(Click to enlarge)



Name: Joy

Household members: 9

“I can’t do laundry at home. I go either to a laundromat that is outside the city limits, or to a friend’s house in Durand, nearly 30 miles away. I have kids that have sensory issues and chew on their clothing, so no lead can get into their clothes. We wash dishes with filtered tap water, rinse them with bottled water, and then dry them by hand so that no lead settles on them. We clean with vinegar or straight chemicals, there’s no diluting it with tap water. We brush our teeth using bottled water.

“My children—7 of them, 18 months to 13 years old—are all on vitamins high in calcium and Vitamin D, recommended by their doctor, to keep extra lead from entering their bodies. The younger ones are bathed in the sink using filtered water. I only let them shower quickly in the shower, and then we wash and rinse their hair at the kitchen sink, where we can use the filter. None of them have played in the bath for over a year.

“We have to run and get water from the fire station a few miles away every other day, because they limit you to two cases per day—and with nine people in our house, that doesn’t go very far.

“We have recently learned that the filters being given away by the city do not adequately filter copper, and all of the kids have elevated copper levels as well as lead levels. So, now, if we run out of water, we must run filtered tap water through a filtering pitcher and then use it. It takes 10 minutes to get one pitcher worth of water that way.

“I would leave everything, literally everything but my children and the clothes on my back in a half a second if I had the money to go.”

$130.88 + charges for nonpayment from the previous months



Name: Richard

Household members: 3

“I have a 5-month-old at home. I cannot use the water for his formula. I’ve had to use bottled water for all his food since he’s been born. I hate the fact that I have to bathe him in the water, but I can’t very well give him baths in bottles of Dasani. I had him tested for lead, and he came back low/negative, so that’s a good thing.

“They switched [the water source] to the Flint river, but I wouldn’t drink it. In the water ways behind University of Michigan-Flint, you’ll see bags of trash floating in there all the time. People say you can’t eat the fish from the Flint river, so why would you want to drink that water source?”

$78.38

Name: Chad

Household members: 1

“I moved out of my parents’ place and hoped to live in an area where the cost of living wouldn’t be expensive since I am a student at the University of Michigan-Flint. It has turned out to be the opposite.

“My water bill has been an average of $80 a month and I rarely use my water. I’ve had to buy several cases of water to use for cooking, cleaning and drinking. I shower daily, wash my clothes every three or so days, and wash a couple of dishes daily. I live alone in an apartment downtown and am shocked every time I see my bill.”

Flint residents need clean water. Redditor Fitzento, who is a Flint resident, urged people to donate to Flint charities that are buying and distributing water, including The United Way of Genesee County, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties and Flint Community Schools.