Safe Water for the People of Flint

After the State of Michigan stripped the residents of Flint of their ability to elect local representatives, state-appointed officials decided to use the Flint River as a water source without adding corrosion controls. As a result, lead leached from the water pipes and poisoned the drinking water, causing untold harm to the people of Flint. The ACLU of Michigan and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a federal lawsuit against state and city officials seeking a court order requiring them to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The goal of the lawsuit, filed in 2016, was to require the state and the city to replace the lead pipes and, in the meantime, ensure that officials deliver safe drinking water. Judge David Lawson granted our request for door-to-door bottled water delivery and filter installation, and soon after recommended that the parties enter mediation. In 2017 we reached an unprecedented settlement for $97 million requiring the state and city to replace all lead and galvanized pipes throughout Flint, allocate resources for health and wellness programs, continue door-to-door filter installation and education, and extensively monitor Flint’s tap water for lead. We continue to monitor compliance and, when necessary, file motions to enforce the settlement agreement’s requirements that Flint complete excavations and replacements of lead pipes at all remaining homes. In February 2023 the court ordered Flint to complete its work by August 2023, but Flint failed to meet the deadline. We consequently filed a motion to hold the city and its mayor in contempt for repeatedly violating the settlement agreement and court orders. In March 2024 the court granted the motion for contempt against the city, ordered the city to set new deadlines for final completion of the work, and awarded attorneys’ fees to plaintiffs’ counsel. In July 2024 the State of Michigan agreed to take over and complete all remaining work, and in June 2025, the State and City completed all pipe replacements and restoration work required under the settlement agreement. (Concerned Pastors for Social Action v. Khouri; ACLU Attorneys Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio and Dan Korobkin; Co-counsel Sarah Tallman, Dimple Chaudhary, Adeline Rolnick, Jolie McLaughlin, and Jared Knicley of NRDC, and Glenn Simmington.)