Personal Narrative: The Flint Michigan Water Crisis

Over the past year, a major contamination event shocked the nation. The Flint Michigan water crisis opened my eyes to the issues of contamination throughout the country. I soon realized that I did not know much about my neighborhood or potential hazards. I grew up in an apartment complex in North Brunswick, NJ. Nine years ago my family and I moved into our new home, which is located on the border of North Brunswick and New Brunswick. My current neighborhood is different in many ways, but I have learned to appreciate its flaws. The Residential Survey allowed me to investigate my home, which sometimes still feels very unfamiliar. My home is a single-family cape cod that was built in 1944. It was constructed with a wood frame and a full basement. My father works as a building superintendent, so from this point on in the survey, I asked him several questions about the interior of our home. The pipes used for plumbing in our home are made out of copper with non-lead solder. Our domestic water source comes from the Delaware and Raritan Canal located in Franklin Township. The water in this canal comes primarily from the Delaware River. North Brunswick partners with American Water Contract Services to provide

Farrington Lake is a freshwater reservoir in North Brunswick that was created by a dam on the Lawrence Brook River, which feeds into the Raritan River. The lake is actually a widened section of the Lawrence Brook River. Most of my childhood friends lived near Farrington Lake and over time the lake became our sanctuary where we would spend countless summers. This came to an end after the township declared war against our rope swing. I do not recall my friends or their families ever worrying about a potential dam failure or its consequences. The perception of risk sometimes depends on how visible the risk is. This was also the case for the residents of a nearby Superfund site in East