Hockey players fly over the ice during an alumni game at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center.
THE NEWS BEHIND THE HEADLINES — While there has been much media attention regarding the dangerous water quality Flint, Mich., residents have been dealing with for close to two years, the water has been deemed safe at the city’s Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center, The Whiting and Flint Iceland Arenas.
Both the Dort Event Center and The Whiting have regularly tested the water supplies, which show no traces of lead.
“We don’t use Flint water, so there have been no issues here,” said Anne Walters, assistant manager at the Flint Iceland Arenas.
The issue began nearly two years ago when, in an effort to save money, Michigan switched the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the notoriously polluted Flint River. The plan was for the city to be switched back to lake water in about two years, after a new state-run supply line was connected.
The problem occurred when Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality neglected to properly treat the Flint River water with an anticorrosive agent, which caused the water to erode iron water mains and leach lead from pipes into the water supply.
Though the city changed back to Lake Huron water in October, the damage to the pipes still caused high lead levels for many residents. This fact was revealed by Mona Hanna-Attisha, a doctor in Flint’s Hurley Medical Center’s pediatric ward, who detected high lead levels in local children.
“When the issue began getting more attention in early fall, we contacted the health department and were assured our water was not affected,” said Jeremy Torrey, general manager at the Dort Federal Credit Union Events Center. “Still, we’ve remained proactive, testing our water regularly.”
The issue has not impacted business at the Dort Center, although bottled water is now being utilized to reassure fans of its resident Flint Firebirds Ontario Hockey League team.
“Even though our water is safe, part of it is about perception,” said Torrey. “We want to make sure the league, fans and the opposing teams and their fans are satisfied.”
The Whiting Center made the decision not to conduct daily water testing, so as a precaution has turned its water fountains off and is providing bottled water upon request.
“We are incurring additional expenses in terms of bottled water and water testing,” said Jarret Hayes, The Whiting Center’s executive director.
Since the majority of its ticket sales are in advance, Hayes said it is too early to tell if the water crisis will have an impact on business.
At press time, Dort Center and The Whiting were working on charitable efforts for the community.
The Flint Iceland Arena is working in conjunction with the Dort Center on charitable efforts for the city, according to Walters.
Those outside the city have stepped in to help. Two weeks ago, fans of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires organized a water drive in just a week, accumulating two semiloads, or 66,000 bottles of water for Flint.
“We’ve had tremendous support from our league partners,” said Torrey.
The Whiting Center is in the process of coordinating with a number of institutions on providing assistance to the community in conjunction with the local chamber and Community Foundation of Greater Flint, which was created in 1988 to engage people in philanthropy and develop the community’s permanent endowment.
“While other venues have availability for use as a charitable or informational resource, we need to schedule these activities around our performance schedule,” said Hayes. “Still, we are willing to volunteer our facility as a resource for the distribution of educational materials, water filters, etc. around our show dates. We are a community resource and want to be part of the solution.”
Interviewed for this story: Jarret Hayes, (810) 237-7337; Jeremy Torrey, (810) 744-0580; Anne Walters, (810) 634-8487