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“The kids of Flint, Michigan have been poisoned.” This is what center-left television commentator Rachel Maddow declared on Wednesday on her nightly political broadcast, “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

The stunning controversy came to light a few weeks ago, thanks in large part to local journalists, who boosted this extremely important issue to national prominence.

Lead levels in Flint were allowed to reach toxic levels first in 2014, when its water supply source switched from Lake Huron water, provided by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, to the Flint River--a river known to be polluted.

The decision came under the direction of a state-appointed emergency manager. In a city already fraught with budget concerns, cost-cutting measures are expected. But the switch was irresponsible and likely criminally negligent.

“This is the equivalent of being shot,” Maddow said on her Wednesday broadcast. “This isn’t something that went bad over a long period of time. They flipped a switch, turned off one spigot last April and turn on a different spigot — and the spigot they turned on poisoned the kids.”

Higher lead levels have already been detected in local children as a result of the switch, possibly causing permanent brain damage, among other serious complications.

And a recent preliminary task force appointed by Governor Rick Snyder put the majority of blame on the state’s Department of Environmental Quality for failing to introduce anticorrosives into the water. The report lead to a public apology by Snyder and the resignation of DEQ Director Dan Wyant on 29 December.

More are surely to blame for the catastrophe, but as Maddow points out, Michigan is one of two sates whose governors are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, making it extremely difficult to find out if Snyder knew about the dangerous levels of lead and chose not to act.

Journalists at the Flint Journal and MLive went through the United States Attorney’s office, the only way to obtain the relevant information. They uncovered documentation showing that “the concerns of citizens about the lead levels in the water were “blown off” by the state.”

Public outcry has been serious and widespread, with notable residents of Flint like Michael Moore producing videos and letters demanding Snyder resign.

Citizens have been demonstrating outside Flint City Hall, also calling on Snyder to resign.

On 8 January, approximately 200 protestors gathered for a peaceful, but justifiably angry demonstration.

Lora Durham, a retired math teacher at Eastern Michigan University told the Detroit Free Press that she is unsatisfied with the response as yet. "There's been a nice apology that's been way too late,” Durham said, adding that "if he was in jail and we served him nothing but this water, he'd be looking into it a lot quicker."

The situation has reached such a crisis level, that on 10 January, three officials of the disaster relief agency of the federal government, known as FEMA, arrived in Flint. The officials are there to assist with the water crisis, but Governor Snyder has not called for any federal financial aid as of yet, according to a Michigan State Police spokeswoman.

Residents have been organizing to provide clean water for their fellow citizens, in response to the deadly revelations. Yet a spokesman for Governor Snyder chastised the demonstrators, saying “It's disappointing that some groups would use such rhetoric and aren't instead focused on joining the collaborative effort to make sure all Flint residents have access to safe clean water.”

It’s disappointing that state officials let this happen to begin with.