Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP

Victims of Flint’s water crisis will receive money from the state government.

Back in 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan switched their water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River in a money-saving measure. A year later, it was discovered that not only was the water tainted with large quantities of lead, but many city residents, especially children, fell ill with lead poisoning. For over a year, all of Flint had to rely exclusively on bottled water for cleaning, drinking, and bathing, which many residents had difficulty affording. In 2016, researchers determined that the lead had finally been purged from Flint homes, and construction work was already underway on new piping, but the damage had already been done. People both in and out of Flint were outraged by the Michigan government’s negligence of the problem, and have been demanding restitution since. Today, that restitution will finally be delivered.

Today, the Michigan state government announced that they would be paying $600 million to Flint residents who were affected by the water crisis. Anyone who was sickened by the crisis can file a claim for compensation, with the exact amount they received determined by how badly it affected them. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel mentioned that approximately 80% of this money will be earmarked for those were under the age of 18 in 2015.

“This settlement focuses on the children and the future of Flint, and the State will do all it can to make this a step forward in the healing process for one of Michigan’s most resilient cities,” Nessel said in a statement. “Ultimately, by reaching this agreement, I hope we can begin the process of closing one of the most difficult chapters in our State’s history and writing a new one that starts with a government that works on behalf of all of its people.”

Credit: Terray Sylvester / The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP

Nessel, along with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have been negotiating with the lawyers of over 1000 Flint families for the last 18 months to reach this settlement. Whitmer conceded that the money will likely not be enough compensation for some, and that “many will still feel justifiable frustration with a system and structure that at times is not adequate to fully address what has happened to people in Flint over the last six years.”

She went on to say that “healing Flint will take a long time, but our ongoing efforts and today’s settlement announcement are important steps in helping all of us move forward.”