The lead was in the water because the Flint River was treated wrong. The pipes were not replaced and rotted away forcing lead to be put into the water. They also used chlorine to take away bacteria but the chlorine corroded all of the pipes and machines.
Lead seepage into the drinking water in Flint, Mich., has causing a major public health crisis and prompted President Obama to declare a federal state of emergency. The led harmed many people put fear into the eyes of people drinking not bottled water. People save the river by putting in clear strong pipes and taking care of the river, people donated lots of bottle water because people had no water to get because the water had lead in it.
The Flint water crisis began in 2014 when the drinking water source for the city of Flint, Michigan was changed to the Flint River. Due to insufficient water treatment, over 100,000 residents were effected by the toxic water.