The severity of the lead contamination in Benton Harbor was discovered by resident Emma Kinnard in 2018. She attempted to go to the mayor, Marcus Muhammad, who refused to test the water. In collaboration with Reverend Edward Pinkney, who founded the Benton Harbor Community Water Council, residents were finally able to get the water tested, and the results revealed a lead concentration of 300 parts per billion (ppb). Although no amount of lead exposure is considered safe, the EPA’s action limit of lead is 10 ppb, making Benton Harbor's contamination 30 times larger than the regulated amount [1]. Lead acts as a neurotoxin, and causes growth and cognition issues, along with liver and kidney damage. Lead exposure is particularly toxic for children, who are more susceptible to its effects as their brains develop.

Following the initial water testing, the Benton Harbor Community Water Council and the current supervisor of Benton Harbor Water, Mike O’Malley, re-tested the town's water from 2019-2021. In 2019, lead levels were at 22 ppb. In 2020, the general level of lead had increased to 24 ppb, and in 2021, the levels had reached 33 ppb. All measurements exceed the EPA limit. The reasons for this were not only structural (lack of regulation and management of the corroded pipes and the constant pushback of deadlines on water treatment), but also due to shifts in racial demographics. In the 1960s, Benton Harbor's population was roughly 19,000, with a quarter of the population identifying as Black. However, by 2019, the population had declined to 9,700 and the Black population increased to 84%. This decline has been partially attributed to the building of Whirlpool’s headquarters in 2012. Whirlpool employees work in Benton Harbor, but reside in St. Joseph, a majority-white and middle-income town. The massive drop in population (more aptly described as a shift to the more affluent St. Joseph) has left Benton Harbor struggling to afford water maintenance and keep up with regulations. The Director of the Michigan Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division admitted that residents would be unwilling or unable to pay for upgrades [3]. Whirlpool's presence in the town has set the stage for a new wave of gentrification, slowing pushing out the low-income black residents [11].

With a lack of interest and/or investment from the government, Reverend Pinkney, along with 19 other environmental groups and residents, filed a petition with the EPA for safe drinking water on September 9th, 2021. The main goal of the petition was to get the federal government to realize the severity of this issue and send aid to support the community. The petition noted that the city failed to protect its residents and asked for a safe alternative water source [4]. A press conference was scheduled for September 9th. However, on September 8th, Michigan Governor Whitmer, in an effort to increase support for her reelection, proposed a $200 million investment to replace lead service lines statewide, pledging $20 million of these dollars to Benton Harbor to replace all the water lines in five years [4]. While a welcome investment in the community, no stakeholder assumed any responsibility for the contamination.

In October 2021, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services advised residents to use bottled water instead of tap [7]. This recommendation did not satisfy residents, who pushed for stronger action in the face of an emergency situation. Finally, in November, the EPA issued an order for Michigan to take specific action to help Benton Harbor residents and following this, residents filed class-action lawsuit [5]. Reverend Pinkney noted an overall lack of honesty from the local and government officials. However, with the passing of Biden’s Infrastructure Bill and over $18.6 million in state and federal funds, Governor Whitmer hopes to be able to finish the replacement project of over 4,000 pipes in 18 months [8].

As of October 22, 2022, 98% of the project is complete, with 4,402 pipes having been replaced [9]. 89 pipes are left in the project. The progress of the project is depicted in the city-run dashboard. These replacements so far have taken almost a full year since November 2021. In comparison, a similar project in Newark, NJ for the replacement of 22,000 pipelines took only two years. While the pipe replacement process has been successful, residents have yet to receive any relief or further efforts from the city. In May 2022 a second Class Action Complaint was filed, calling for more action, health monitoring, a water monitor, and more [10]. There have been no noted movement on this lawsuit. It is crucial to note, however, that while the action was taken to address the contaminated water and pipelines, the action was extremely slow and delayed. Officials delayed response and overall lack of action in the face of this environmental justice and racism apparent. The city should continue to be monitored, especially with the nearby town of St. Joseph being the cause of the initial population and funding loss. The expansion of this town could lead to further issues in the future.

In 2018, before a resident tested their water, it was first taken to the mayor of Benton Harbor, Marcus Muhammad, the current mayor, who refused to have it tested. In recent interviews, he stated that he couldn’t have done anything sooner, and the money needed to make it happen was not yet available. He stated he was looking for grants to pay for replacing the water lines and chooses to focus on the current action without looking at past events.

Along the same timeline, a judge approved over $600 million to begin to settle the lawsuits of Flint residents exposed to the lead contaminated water in 2014-2015 [6].

On September 8th, 2021, after catching wind of a press conference held by the Benton Harbor Community Water Council to file a state of the emergency petition for safe drinking water on September 9th, Michigan governor Whitmer pledged 20 million dollars to Benton Harbor to fix the water lines. This comes at a crucial time to aid Benton Harbor but too late to reverse the health-wise damage to many residents, especially children. Benton Harbor also received 18.6 million dollars from the Infrastructure Bill passed by President Biden to aid in the replacement process that was projected to finish in 18 months for 4,000 water lines. As of October 2022, 98% of the project to replace pipelines has been completed, with 4,402 completed and only 89 remaining [9]. Residents are still working towards settling a civil lawsuit against the city that calls for more action [10].