The latest batch of letters informing people of their awards from the Flint water settlement was issued this week.
It is the latest in the rollout of a consolidated federal class-action settlement worth over $600 million to compensate Flint residents exposed to lead-contaminated water. Current payments are solely for those with property claims, while payments for adult personal injury claims are expected next month.
In 2014, an emergency financial manager appointed by then-Governor Rick Snyder switched the city’s water source away from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Flint River water was employed as a stopgap during the transition.
Flint’s outdated water treatment plant, at the advice of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, did not add corrosion control treatments to the river water. As a result, the water corroded the city’s pipes, releasing lead and other contaminants into Flint’s drinking water.
The settlement — which were reached in 2020 and received final approval in 2023 — resolved claims against the state of Michigan, the city of Flint, and other defendants.
Melissa Mays, a Flint resident named in the initial lawsuit, said she and others she knew would use the money to help pay for maintenance and repairs to their homes. She said these repairs were needed due to damage from the water.
“A lot of people need to — would like to — get caught up on their water bills, a lot of people would like to be able to pay off doctor bills, pay off home repair bills to fix their homes to where they are safe, to pay for tutors for their kids,” Mays said.
Mays said she is excited that Flint residents are beginning to receive the money they are owed, but struggles to understand why it has taken so long.
“The reality is that out of all the work that we've continued to do for 12 years, we've made a lot of headway, they're still just dragging their feet to give the residents of Flint anything,” Mays said.
The current round of payments is only for those with approved property claims. It focuses on property claims in which more than one claimant has been approved for the same property. The maximum award for a property claim is $1,000, to be distributed between all approved claimants for that property.
According to the official Flint water settlement website, as of Wednesday, 7,872 of the nearly 11,000 approved individuals had secured payment.
Adults with approved personal injury claims await partial payment after authorization by a federal judge March 23. The settlement administrator expects that that process will begin next month.
People who were minors at the time of the crisis will receive the majority of the settlement.
