The water crisis in Flint was as a result of drinking water being contaminated by lead and toxins from aging cast iron pipes and leaking valves. Michigan State had resorted to supply Flint city with water from Lake Huron through a new pipeline. Water was to be supplied by Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA), instead of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Residents complained of having brown coloured, smelly, and funny tasting water coming from their taps. The water reacted with children and caused rashes. As the construction of the new system was taking place, the city relied on water from the Flint River (Newell). This decision came because the state needed to cut down on the budget that was allocated for water supply since Flint’s finances were at a deficit. The major role of civil or environmental engineers was to ensure that they supply water to residents and the water supply system does not get contaminated by aging cast iron pipes and leaking valves.

The roles of engineers from Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) involve ensuring that water is supplied to the city of Flint. The water should be exceptionally clean and fit for human consumption. MDEQ has to ascertain the safeness of water through establishing a schedule that will show the specific duration of time that water should be tested for impurities. The tests will help in determining the best chemical treatment for water at that specific time. The schedule will also determine the time that the pipes used to supply water have to be cleaned to remove bacteria or replaced by new pipes. Additionally, the engineers through MDEQ have the responsibility of conducting arbitrary testing of water in randomly selected residential areas. This will result in healthy water monitoring and avoid lawsuits (Newell).

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the department of public works under which the civil/environmental engineers work have the duty of ensuring that safe water is supplied within the state of Michigan (Newell). However, the officials from this docket failed in their responsibility and as a result, a number of individuals have suffered from water contamination. The contemporary and ethical issues involved is a matter of engineers committing technical and scientific errors. The engineers failed to ascertain the time that they were needed to thwart the corrosion in pipes, which caused lead to leach out. They were also not on the same page regarding the best time that they were expected to test the water quality and the method to employ in testing the water (Newell).

Under the MDEQ, numerous complaints that pertained to the water from Flint River, in terms of the quality and hazards were overlooked. This was so since the city wanted to cut on cost by changing the water supply to come from Flint River, instead of the Detroit system. Thus, it was unethical on the side of the city to focus more on cutting costs, rather than the health of its residents (Newell).

The environmental engineers failed to use corrosion-control chemicals to test the water due to bureaucracy and broken chain of command. This information was hidden from the public since it would have brought criticism and public outcry against the city’s authority. As such, it meant that the city took unethical decision of choosing political sensitivity against the safety of Flint residents. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) recommended the system to be flushed and the amount of chlorine in the water to be increased after numerous protests by residents, clergy, and activist groups. This is a clear indication that MDEQ was unethical since it acted against the contamination after a long period in which a lot of infections and suffering had been experienced (Newell).