Flint's water crisis: what went wrong

After the water supply was found to contain high levels of lead, evidence is mounting that officials ignored or neglected indicators of a growing crisis

Lee and Ernie Perez knew something was amiss when their three cats started throwing up after drinking water.

In 2014, the longtime residents of Flint, Michigan, were dealing with the same circumstances that had consumed most of the town. The problems began in April that year, after the city switched its water source and started pulling water from a local river as a cost-saving measure. Almost immediately, residents levied complaints about the smelly, discolored and disgusting fluid that was now flowing into their households.