Two fishermen and their ATV & shanty fell through the ice yesterday (2/4/2018) near Rose Island (between Bay Port & Sebewaing) in 4-5 feet of water. They were only about a half mile out. Visibility was bad yesterday with the snow blowing around. They couldn’t make it back to shore and died. They were found about 900 feet from where they fell through.
Ice Safety Guidelines
It may take a deadly incident like this to remind people that ice changes and to be mindful of what is underfoot. The Minnesota DNR provides the following guidelines.
For new, clear ice only
Under 4″ – STAY OFF
4″ – Ice fishing or other activities on foot
5″ – 7″ – Snowmobile or ATV
8″ – 12″ – Car or small pickup
12″ – 15″ – Medium truck
Many factors other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe. Currents from nearby rivers or debris in the ice can create thin areas.
White ice or “snow ice” is only about half as strong as new clear ice. Double the above thickness guidelines when traveling on white ice.
In April 2014 the City of Flint Michigan switched from water from Lake Huron provided by the city of Detroit to utilizing water taken from the Flint River. This was a cost saving move under the leadership of a succession of Flint emergency managers appointed by Michigan governor Rick Snyder. As a result of the corrosive nature of the Flint River water and mismanagement by all of the appointed emergency managers, the Flint city government and by Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality an unknown number of children in Flint, Michigan (estimates are in the 1000’s), were exposed to dangerous amounts of lead in their drinking water over the past 18 months. Recently health officials are investigating if 87 cased of Legionnaires disease is linked to the water crisis. 10 people have died since 2014.
Currently there is no long range plan to correct this problem. The American Red Cross has been coordinating 1000’s of volunteers who have been distributing bottled water door to door. Filters and test kits are also being distributed. Filters can treat up to 100 gallons of contaminated water.
Exposure to lead can have a wide range of effects on a child’s development and behavior. Even when exposed to small amounts of lead levels, children may appear inattentive, hyperactive and irritable. Children with greater lead levels may also have problems with learning and reading, delayed growth and hearing loss. At high levels, lead can cause permanent brain damage and even death.
Quick Facts
Population of Flint Michigan (est): 100,000
Households: 41,000
Children under 5 years of age (est.): 7,000
Flint Michigan Water Crisis Timeline
November 2011
Governor Snyder appoints Michael Brown as emergency manager of Flint. Brown is the first of the line of four emergency managers.
August 2012
Governor Snyder appoints Ed Kurtz emergency manager after Michael Brown steps down.
December 2012
Michigan Treasury and Flint city officials review alternatives to using Detroit City Water. Treasury reviews two options; staying with the Detroit water system and using the Karegnondi Water Authority, (KWA), a new pipeline to Lake Huron water under development.
March 2013
Flint City Council votes to join the Karegnondi Water Authority, which is under development. However under emergency manager status the vote is non-binding and the council holds no authority.
April 2013
Ed Kurtz, Flint emergency manager, fails to negotiate and sign extension contract with Detroit water department citing unreliable rates. Detroit notifies city that it will end its contract with Flint in one year.
June 2013
Emergency manager Ed Kurtz hires Lockwood, Andrews & Newman for a plan to switch to Flint river water.
Karegnondi Water Authority breaks ground for water pipeline from Lake Huron
Emergency manager Ed Kurtz resigns
July 2013
Michael Brown returns to Flint to take back the role of emergency manager.
September 2013
Michael Brown resigns the post of Flint’s emergency manager citing family reasons.
October 2013
The forth appointed emergency manger, Darnell Earley steps in for outgoing Michael Brown.
March 2014
Emergency manager Darnell Earley refuses offer by Detroit Water Department to continue to purchase water. Notes that use of Flint River water will be temporary until KWA pipeline is completed.
April 2014
After receiving approval from State of Michigan regulators, City and State officials switched Flint’s water source from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River, immediately prompting citizen complaints about tap water quality.
September 2014
An internal report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services warned that lead poisoning rates “were higher than usual for children under age 16 living in the City of Flint during the months of July, August and September, 2014.”
October 2014
General Motors announces it will cease using Flint water due to corrosion problems in machines due to high chlorine levels.
January 2015
Flint is found to be in violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act due to high levels of trihalomethanes (TTHM). This is due to Flints efforts to rid the system of E, coli contamination.
Flint mayor Dayne Walling announces that the Flint water is safe to drink.
University of Michigan’s Flint campus finds high lead levels on campus. It shuts down some drinking fountains as a result. This is considered a first report of a lead problem in Flint’s water.
Emergency manager Darnell Earley said Flint will not return to Detroit water citing $12m cost.
Darnell Earley resigns as emergency manager, Jerry Ambrose steps in.
February 2015
Flint residents see lead level in home drinking water at 104 parts per billion. Far exceeding EPA’s limit of 15 parts per billion.
EPA begins inquiries about treatment for corrosion. Michigan’s DEQ reports that a corrosion plan is in effect. This is found to be false later in the year.
April 2015
A Flint child is found to have confirmed lead poisoning. The source of the lead is the Flint water system. Officials shut off water to the home and connect to a neighbor’s house with a garden hose.
June 2015
In a leaked memo, the EPA expresses alarm over lack of corrosion control and high lead levels seen in resident water. Admits that they have no idea of the extent of the problem.
July 2015
Through a public records request, Marc Edwards, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Tech, uncovered a July 2015 memo warning of elevated lead levels in Flint kids’ blood.
September 2015
MDEQ’s Brad Wurfel publicly begin stating that a study had been done on lead levels, and using those results for public relations purposes as early as September 6th, 2015. Ironically, it was used to discredit high lead in water data collected by Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech University researchers test homes across Flint. One sample shows lead contamination at 13,200 per billion. 5,000 parts per billion is considered hazardous waste.
Flint pediatrician finds lead levels in children have doubled since the switch to Flint River water. Estimates are 4% of children have elevated blood-lead levels.
October 2015
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant reported that water at Eisenhower and Freeman elementary schools, along with Brownell/Holmes STEM academies tested above 15 parts per billion for lead — the safety standard set by the federal government. One of the schools tested at more than six times the federal limit.
Genesee County declares public health emergency. Plans to distribute 1000’s of water filters.
Michigan Governor Snyder states that Flint will return to Detroit City Water. Mott Foundation pledges $10m for the $12m conversion effort since the State of Michigan has no emergency funds.
On Oct. 16, water started flowing again from Detroit to Flint.
November 2015
Challenger Karen Weaver has defeated incumbent Dayne Walling to become the first woman elected as mayor of Flint. Walling had been elected mayor twice previously — to a partial term in 2009 and a full four-year term in 2011.
Howard Croft, the department head responsible for oversight of Flint water operations, resigns his position November 16.
December 2015
In her first month in office Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver declares a State of Man-Made Emergency due to problems with the city’s water system caused by using water from the Flint River, saying the city needs more federal help.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow launched a series of reports on the Flint Water Crisis bringing national attention to the crisis in Michigan and the failure of emergency managers in Michigan.
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant resigns.
January 2016
Michigan’s governor Snyder directs the Michigan State Police to distribute donated water and water filters to the community.
Snyder calls up the Michigan National Guard to assist in water distribution.
Health officials investigate Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in and around Flint to determine if it was caused by the ongoing water-contamination crisis.
Residents file a class-action lawsuit alleging the water was corroding city pipes and leaching lead because the state wasn’t treating it with an anti-corrosive agent, a violation of federal law.
Governor Snyder asks the Obama administration to declare a major disaster in Genesee County and expedite federal aid to citizens affected by the polluted water supply.
U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, wants leaders of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hold a hearing on lead contamination in the water in Flint, saying it’s Congress’ responsibility to address “a man-made disaster created by the poor policy decisions of elected and career government officials.
President Obama declares that an emergency exists in the State of Michigan and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions in the area affected by contaminated water.
Governor Snyder reviews the Flint Water Crisis in his State of the State address. Announces $28m in state funding and announces that all email communication on the Flint crisis will be made public.
President Obama remarks at the United Auto Worker’s General Motors training center in Detroit. “And I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kids’ health could be at risk.That’s why over the weekend, I declared a federal emergency in Flint.”
February 2016
Water testing coordinated by the EPA shows samples exceeding 150 part per billion. At this level filters may be ineffective for removal of lead from drinking water.
Congressional oversight hearings begin on the Flint Water Crisis. U.S. Marshals asked to “hunt … down” former Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley to force him to testify in hearings.
Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller introduces $1 Billion emergency aid bill to replace Flint’s water system.
Credits for the information provided by Michigan Public Radio, Mlive.com, US Census, US Centers for Disease Control, MSNBC, ABC News and various news and information services.
