Flint, Michigan's drinking water became contaminated with lead in 2014 after its supply source was switched from Lake Huron water provided by what was then the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the more polluted and corrosive Flint River by order of the Michigan governor in order to cut costs.
Gov. Snyder and other state officials knew but did not acknowledge until last fall that the river water was corroding pipes and causing lead to leach into the drinking water. The state health department in Michigan and the Department of Environmental Quality were aware of the lead nearly a year and a half ago, but did not inform the public.
These criminal acts need not go unpunished.