And then, like in many cases of malfeasance, the mayor and others involved tried to deflect blame by claiming they were victims of a racist system. This made the situation even more toxic. It's embarrassing that the press uncritically amplified these claims without actually investigating or understanding what was going on.

This does show the strength of our federal system, though. The local politics had a failure by putting in this mayor who is well outside of mainstream politics. This resulted in problems, such as the the water system not being operated properly. Eventually, the state got involved and raised the alarm, but like any messenger, they took a few arrows for their efforts. Eventually the feds got involved, and the Army Corps was able to put things on a better path.