LeeAnne Walters is an American environmental activist from Flint, Michigan. She became known for her role in exposing the Flint water crisis.[1]
LeeAnne Walters | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Grassroots environmentalism |
| Awards | Goldman Environmental Prize (2018) PEN America's Freedom of Expression Courage Award (2016) |
Studies and personal life
LeeAnne Walters was trained as medical assistant.[2] She has four children, of which two are twins that were 4 years old in 2014.[3]
Environmental activism
Walters became known for her role in exposing the Flint water crisis.[4] In 2014, her children started to suffer from several medical issues, like rashes, hair dropping blurry vision, and enlarged kidney.[1] Walters started to lose her eyelashes.[5] She then started to make the link with water that started to change color and to flow brown.[1][3] After the city tested the water supply in February 2015, Walters started investigating lead contamination and discovered that the water in her home had 104 parts of lead per billion.[2][4] Her house was the first in being tested.[5] She then collected 800 water samples from all Flint zip codes with tests provided by Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards,[4] by working 100 hours a week for three weeks.[2] She showed that lead levels in some areas were twice as high as what the Environmental Protection Agency considers hazardous waste.[2]
On February 3, 2016, Walters testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform about her work during the water crisis.[6]
In 2015, she founded the advocacy group Water You Fighting For? with Melissa Mays.[2]
Acknowledgment
In 2016, Walters was honored with the PEN America's Freedom of Expression Courage Award.[7][8] The 2017 television drama film Flint is based on the toxic water disaster. In the film, Betsy Brandt played the character of Walters.[9] Walters was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018, for her key role in exposing the Flint water contamination crisis.[10][11]