Benton Harbor’s water crisis highlights failing infrastructure’s impact on the poor
The small town of Benton Harbor is the latest example of decaying infrastructure and historic divestment leading to a water crisis in the state of Michigan.
Car lines have been wrapped around blocks for weeks at local distribution locations where many low-income residents are collecting cases of bottled water after state and city officials advised them not to use the tap water due to high levels of lead contamination.
“You still have to pay for water you can’t drink, you can’t brush your teeth with, you can’t cook with, or bathe with it,” said Rev. Edward Pinkney, president of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council. “No city in this country should have to go through what Benton Harbor went through for the past three years.”