I&#x27;m no expert on water engineering, but my understanding is as follows: The Flint river water was safe to drink after treatment, but with a slightly lower pH than normal. This caused the pipes to corrode which allowed lead and iron from the pipes to contaminate the water. If Flint&#x27;s water engineers had followed standard practices to control corrosion (e.g. by adding orthophosphate to the water) then there would never have been any problem. Corrosion control would have cost peanuts -- about $100 per day [0].<p>Of course, it&#x27;s hard to find unbiased sources, and I could easily be mistaken. Do you have a source for your claim that making the water safe would be expensive, or are you just speculating?<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.rollingstone.com&#x2F;politics&#x2F;news&#x2F;who-poisoned-flint-michigan-20160122?page=9" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.rollingstone.com&#x2F;politics&#x2F;news&#x2F;who-poisoned-flint...</a>