gerri willis with the latest. >> reporter: unbelievable. here's what set this in motion, in 2014, basically the city of flint changed water supply. they changed it from detroit river to flint river, and the brownater that gushed into the city from the flint river essentially corroded pipes leaving lead in the water consumed by residents. and as you know, i don't have to tell you, liz, particularly dangerous for children, it can lead to problems with dwem. it can also lead to death. this is a very, very serious problem. now we have a class-action lawsuit in flint brought by residents who are livid, as you might imagine. they're saying that this is a war crime. that they are being poisoned. they say we all have death sentences on our head. you're seeing the pictures of people walking around with placards, saying water is a human right. it's astonishing how long this has gone on. now, governor snyder who gives state of the state address tonight is expected to address the problem with a plan for going forward. so far, obama has said this is an emergency, and it has placed flint in a state of emergency which unleashes some money, the city wants designation as a disaster zone because it will set up