Brittany Greeson began photographing the Flint water crisis in the spring of 2015, when what is now a nationally-recognized health emergency was a local Michigan headline. As an intern for The Flint Journal, Greeson documented the small protests outside City Hall, talking to frustrated residents asking for clean and affordable drinking water. “The only thing I could do to help would be to pick up my camera,” she said. Greeson teamed up with The Ground Truth Project to produce her essay, "We Fear the Water," which shows how residents' daily lives have been impacted by this man-made disaster. In Flint, people have to drag suitcases of water down snow-covered streets, children have to have their fingers regularly pricked for lead testing and families bathe in baby wipes for fear of rashes. Who is to blame? What are the long-term effects of exposure to contaminated water? These questions are luxuries to the citizens of Flint, who have to decide if they can buy food or bottled water. “This story isn’t finished yet,” Greeson said. “So naturally, I’m not finished yet either.”
'We Fear the Water'
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Gladyes Williamson smells a jar of water from her tap on January 13, 2016. Williamson has been recording her struggle with Flint's water crisis since the city switched water sources in early 2014. #
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Journey Jones, 3, sits on the kitchen floor in her family's home as her brother Iveon Jones, 2, reaches for a bottled water on January 17, 2016. The pair are two of six children living in the home, all of whom have had elevated levels of lead in their blood. #
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Earlene Love, 64, prays alongside her peers as protestors gather outside the Romney building, which houses the office of Governor Rick Snyder, in Lansing, Michigan, on January 14, 2016. #
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The Flint River weaves through downtown from the University of Michigan-Flint's Northbank Center on January 6, 2016. The river was the city's main water source since the spring of 2014, following a switch from the Detroit Department of Water and Sewerage. #
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Local residents wait in line to pick up Brita water filters at the Flint Fire Department on January 15, 2016. Following the declaration of a state of emergency, local fire stations began acting as water resource centers where residents could pick up filters, lead testing kits, and cases of bottled water. #
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A man drags a suitcase full of bottled water away from Firehouse #3, where the Red Cross distributed supplies on January 12, 2016. Many citizens lack viable transit options, which means they must use the city's meager bus system to get heavy cases of bottled water home to their families. #
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Janice Berryman, 71, cries while sitting in her bedroom after being asked what the most difficult part of Flint's ongoing crisis was. She said it was loneliness, as members of her family visit less often due to the state of the water in the city. Berryman has lived in the city of Flint her entire life. #
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Protestors circle around a balcony at the Michigan State Capitol building chanting for Governor Rick Snyder's resignation during a demonstration in Lansing, Michigan, on January 14, 2016. #
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A woman carries a case of bottled water to her car outside of Firehouse #3 in Flint, Michigan, on January 12, 2016. Families were alotted one to two cases, which some residents said was not enough. #
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Aireal Sweet, 10, and Amaria Dirrell, 8, brush their teeth using bottled water in the bathroom of their family's home on January 17, 2016. The girls and their siblings were blood tested for lead and all came back with elevated levels. #
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A man looks at a protestor dressed as Michigan Governor Rick Snyder during a demonstration organized by the Detroit Light Brigade in front of Flint City Hall on January 8, 2016. #
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Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha at her office in the Hurley Children's Center in Flint on January 15, 2016. Dr. Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician, organized a team of researchers to see if lead was poisoning Flint's children. “What we found was contrary to everything that’s been going on in the country and in the city of Flint. The percentage of children with lead poisoning had increased,” Dr. Hanna-Attisha said. “Here we are in 2016, in the middle of the Great Lakes, and we don’t have access to safe drinking water and we have just given an entire population lead.” #
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Flint's Mayor Karen Weaver answers questions from the media as Flint Police Chief James Tolbert looks on from behind an American flag during a press conference announcing Gov. Rick Snyder's approval for a state of emergency in Genesee County on January 1, 2016. #
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Stephanie Webber, 20, bows down her head in frustration after hearing that if she is to test positive for lead, she will no longer be able to donate blood in Flint, Michigan, on January 13, 2016. Webber is an active blood donor who recently reached a gallon of blood donated. #
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