Enjoy Your Tap Water Today, Tomorrow It Will Be Coming From the Flint River

Time to fill up as many pitchers, buckets and bottles with as much tap water as you can. April 20th is not only Easter and a beloved stoner holiday, but it also marks the last time many Flint residents can turn on the faucet and not get water from the Flint River.

The Flint River has long been the butt of any Mid-Michigan joke where a disgustingly polluted body of water was needed for the punchline. Starting tomorrow (April 21), that punchline will be flowing freely through our faucets, shower heads and toilets... despite the fact that its likely only suitable for the latter.

Emergency Manager Darnell Earley announced that testing of the Flint River water at the treatment facility began Thursday and that we should have it pumping into our homes by Monday.

Most people are not excited about the news... especially after it was recently announced that water rates would likely go up so "upgrades can be made to the system." That reasoning raises some eyebrows since $7 million in upgrades have already been made to the treatment facility, which is still less than than the $12 million we were paying Detroit annually under the old water system (now replaced by the Flint River). Basically, we're switching to the Flint River as a water source to save money, which is going to cost more money. Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

Don't worry though. The Flint River is "Pure Michigan."