 On April 25th, 2014, Flint, Michigan, switched the Flint River as its primary source of drinking water, which led to the poisoning of its citizens from corroded pipes. This was only one of hundreds of decisions made during two periods of emergency management in Flint, all of which now shape its landscape. As factories closed over the last half of the 20th century and white flight reinforced structural disinvestment in communities of color, Flint's tax base shrank as its proportion of African American residents increased. By the year 2000, the city's revenue could not keep up with its needed services. In May 2002, Michigan Governor John Engler determined that a state of financial emergency existed in Flint. In July of the same year, the state-appointed Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board placed the city under the control of Ed Kurtz, the CEO of Baker College. Beginning under Kurtz's tenure in 2002, but operating outside his purview, local institutions independent of municipal government developed new visions for the city, which had not adopted a master plan since 1960. These efforts continued through the 2005 end-of-state control declared by Governor Jennifer Granholm, which was tied to substantial cuts in municipal salaries. Meanwhile, in a further attempt to cut municipal costs, the Flint City Council investigated alternatives to its drinking water contract with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. In order to achieve this goal, Flint co-sponsored the Pileminary Engineering Report for a new, less expensive lake here on Pipeline managed by the Kereganadi Water Authority or the KWA. In July 2011, Lackaw and Andrews and Newnham Incorporated studied treating Flint River water as a third option, ultimately concluding that it would be less expensive than the DWSD but more expensive than the KWA. On the basis of increasing deficits, in November of 2011, Governor Rick Snyder declared another state of financial emergency in Flint and appointed Michael Brown as emergency manager. Brown had long been involved in economic development in the municipality. I don't believe any of us voted to disregard and just throw away elected bodies. I'm told now that they don't even meet in City Hall, that they meet in the Mott Foundation building. Now around the city of Flint, they're calling the Mott Foundation building City Hall North. Around the same time, thanks to a $1.57 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the city began an independent master planning process that continued for the next two years. Grants from the Ruth S. Mott Foundation and the Charles S. Mott Foundation provided additional funding. Though not falling under the emergency manager's peer view and therefore having no guarantee of implementation, Brown nonetheless encouraged Mayor Dane Walling to focus as much citizen attention on the process as what's possible. Smooth operation, everybody's here representing the diversity of the city. Meanwhile, private planning efforts continued on a parallel track. In October of 2010, the Flint chapter of the American Institute of Architects held a competition to design an adaptive reuse of Genesee Towers. A neglected 1968 high rise next to the Charles S. Mott Foundation building or the so-called City Hall North in downtown Flint. In August 2012, emergency manager Michael Brown signed an agreement with the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation selling Genesee Towers for $1 in order for it to be demolished just over one year later. In early 2013, Utkerts replaced Michael Brown as an emergency manager and signed a drinking water contract with the KWA. The DWSD subsequently notified Flint that its water services would be terminated one year later, though the KWA pipeline was not due to be complete for another two. A few months later, Utkerts retained Lockwood, Andrews and Newnham Incorporated to plan retrofits to the Flint Water Treatment Plant in order to use the Flint River as the primary water supply until the KWA pipeline was complete. The pipeline broke ground two days later. On October 8, 2013, after the brief reinstatement of Michael Brown, Governor Snyder appointed Darnell Earley as emergency manager. I'm Darnell Earley. Those of you who have not had an opportunity to meet me yet, I'm, as was mentioned earlier, the new emergency manager, but I'm also an old part of the Flint fabric. At the same time, the Flint City Council adopted Imagine Flint, the new master plan, with Earley's assurance that it would eventually be honored. As the end of Flint's contract loomed, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department offered an extension until the KWA pipeline was complete. However, foreseeing the Flint Water Treatment Plant finishing construction, Earley decided to decline the offer and the city began using Flint River water on April 25, 2014. Three months later, complaints about water quality began. Residents cited skin rashes and hair loss followed by more extreme symptoms. In June, having taken no action on the water crisis, emergency manager Darnell Earley ordered the adoption of a new strategic plan for the city, drawing attention to what he termed more sustainable, responsible and accountable goals, such as pothole repair. Due to the concerns about elevated levels of total coliform bacteria, Flint issued a Boil Water Advisory on August 15, 2014. It's getting ridiculous. We were paying more using our own water than we were paying buying it from Detroit and we had literally like no problems. The following year, Governor Snyder appointed Jerry Ambrose to take Earley's place as emergency manager. Citizens in the city council pushed for Flint to return to Detroit water, but Ambrose refused. However, on February 10th at Ambrose's request, the city hired Veolia, an international infrastructure management firm, to study the water treatment process. We're going to look at the numbers. We're going to look at the plant. We're going to decide how the equipment's functioning. Look at the raw water. Look at the finished water. Decide how it's getting through the pipe to the house. And from that, decide how to fix each of those problems. Eight days later, lead levels of 104 parts per billion were found in the tap water of Leanne Walters, a Flint resident who demanded the city test her water after her children exhibited worrying symptoms. In a report the following month, Veolia concluded that the water met regulatory standards, though they did recommend corrosion control but only for the purpose of mitigating discoloration. Governor Snyder ended the financial emergency in Flint on April 29th, 2015. This decision was based on Ambrose's determination that the state of emergency had been sufficiently addressed. A receivership transition advisory board continued to oversee the city council and mayor's office. While Flint transitioned back into its local representative democracy, residents formed informal networks of research and investigation. In April 2015, Leanne Walters partnered with Mark Edwards, an environmental engineer, to initiate an independent lead testing study on Flint homes. Citizen-led coalitions like the Flint Democracy Defense League, led by Nyura Sharif, worked to hold public officials accountable in investigated public records. Government officials and public health advocates also intervened. EPA Federal Regulations Manager for Region 5, Miguel del Torral, broke protocol in 2015 by assisting citizens in their lead testing study, in highlighting the EPA's reluctance to act on a public health threat. It's the easiest thing to do. If you tell people, even if you tell them late, if you tell them the truth, and I'm not talking about years late, but if you make a misstatement and you correct it and you tell them the truth, I think they might be upset, but in the end, I think most people in their hearts, they might walk away upset, but in their hearts, they'll appreciate the truth. Pediatrician Mona Hannah Atisha conducted statistical studies to prove a correlation between the water switch and the doubling of lead blood levels in children between 2014 and 2015. Armed with results from the lead testing study and evidence of deceptive government testing practices, citizens organized under the Coalition for Clean Water demanded that the city switch back to Detroit Water and replace lead service lines. In June, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schutte sued Violia and Lockwood Andrews and Noonam Incorporated for professional negligence with regard to their work on the Flint water supply. In October, a year and a half after the original extension offer, the Flint City Council switched the city back to the DWSD at the cost of $12 million. The state of Michigan contributed $6 million, the Charles S. Mott Foundation contributed $4 million, and the city of Flint contributed $2 million. With the lead poisoning effects increasingly evident, the city's new mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency in Flint on December 15, 2015 in order to acquire assistance from the state. The next day, at the request of the county, Governor Rick Snyder followed suit, initiating the process of soliciting federal assistance. On January 16th, President Barack Obama declared a federal emergency for Genesee County, ordering aid to supplement state and local response efforts. Kurt Gayet's investigative reporting for the ACLU of Michigan ultimately sparked federal and criminal investigations of Flint's water crisis. Citizens and activists, including Walters and Edwards, testified. Today, I'm announcing the fast start plan. It's an estimated $55 million project to remove and replace Flint's residential lead pipes as quickly as possible. Waterline replacement began in Flint in the spring of 2016 with the state of Michigan's $25 million allocation to the fast start project initiated by Mayor Karen Weaver. The KWA pipeline was completed on July 11, 2016 with a total cost of $285 million. Water began flowing from Lake Huron through the new Genesee County water treatment plant in November of 2017. The city of Flint approved $35.6 million in contracts for lead water line replacement in March, 2017. As of later that year, 6,228 out of an estimated 18,000 lead water service lines had been replaced in Flint under the fast start program. While lead levels are still elevated in Flint homes and schools and residents continue to rely on bottled water, emergency management remains available as a tool for executive governance in Michigan and around the country. Imagine Flint remains unrealized.