Osler's Razor

As I was traveling through Chicago a few days ago, I got to visit with my sister, who lives just outside that city. We talked about what was going on back in Michigan, and she told me the remarkable and sad story of how Flint, Michigan's water system became poisoned with lead.

The whole story is captured in a wonderful timeline provided by Michigan Radio. In short, Flint has been led by a number of Emergency Managers appointed by Governor Rick Snyder. While these managers quickly rotated in and out (and with the acquiescence or even the suggestion of local leaders), the city decided to save money by changing over from Detroit water to cheaper water from another district. In the process, though, they messed up the transition and ended up pumping water from the Flint River and treating it locally. Almost immediately, it was clear this was a bad plan. The water was discolored and tasted bad. It tested very high for lead, as well. However, officials denied there was a problem.

Now it appears that children in Flint, one of America's poorest cities, may have lead poisoning.