Michigan’s uneven and unequal approach to taking over municipal governments in financial distress is linked to local drinking water crises.

From 2015 to 2019 the city of Flint, Michigan experienced a drinking water crisis which saw thousands of residents exposed to water-borne diseases and potential lead contamination. In new research, Sara Hughes and Anna Kopec examine the role of Michigan’s municipal takeover laws – which are intended to tackle local financial distress – in shaping water crises in Flint and elsewhere. They find that the state’s municipal takeover policies were often applied unevenly and inequitably, with cities placed under emergency management more likely to experience rising water rates, water service shutoffs, and attempts at privatization, often without public input.