Rasheed Wallace, Stephen Jackson bring more bottled water to Flint
Former NBA players Rasheed Wallace and Stephen Jackson visited Flint, Mich., this past weekend to deliver water to residents still affected by the water crisis that has rocked the city for more than two years.
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Journalist Rachel Nichols, host of the ESPN basketball show “The Jump,” joined the former players on the trip and shared a video of the experience on Facebook:
Flint remains under a federal emergency declaration after some Flint children were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood lead levels following the city’s April 2014 decision to switch its water source from Lake Huron water purchased from the Detroit water system to water from the Flint River in April 2014, a cost-saving choice made while Flint was being run by a state-appointed emergency manager.
The river water wasn’t treated to make it less corrosive and harmful, which caused lead from the plumbing and pipes carrying it to leach into the water supply. Despite increased treatment efforts, elevated lead levels are still being detected around the city, according to Gary Ridley of the Flint Journal, and Flint residents are still being advised not to drink unfiltered tap water.
“Everyone thinks the crisis has been settled,” Wallace says in the video clip. “But it hasn’t.”
While the emergency declaration is scheduled to expire on Aug. 14, local, state and federal officials insist that aid to residents — including the distribution of bottled water, water filter replacement cartridges, water and pitcher filters, and at-home water testing kits — will continue after that date. Even so, Capt. Chris A. Kelenske of the Michigan State Police, who serves as Michigan’s deputy director of emergency management and homeland security, on Wednesday encouraged residents to use the filters provided to use the city’s water supply rather than relying solely on bottled water.
“Although the residents have a choice between bottled water and filters, I want to stress that under a consensus of local, state and federal experts water filters have been found to be effective in removing lead from water,” Kelenske said, according to Dominic Adams of the Flint Journal. “I encourage Flint water system customers to use filters more than bottled water because it keeps the water flowing through the pipes which helps improve the system even more.”
Still, residents understandably ill at ease about relying on even filtered city water continue to need, use and appreciate bottled water; hence the special delivery from Wallace and company, who reportedly bought out the entire bottled water stock of local Target and Wal-Mart stores. It’s not the first such trip for Wallace — he brought a similarly loaded truck to the area in February — as the former Detroit Pistons player and coach continues to do what he can to lend a hand to those in need in trying times.
“We take it for granted because we live in other cities and our water is fine,” Wallace says to Nichols. “But just imagine if it was happening in your town. You damn sure would want help, too, so that’s why we’re here.”
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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