Jesus has the most basic of needs in this Sunday’s gospel as he sits by a well after a long journey—the need for water. He promises the Samaritan woman who attends him that he can give her a "spring of water welling up to eternal life.” It has been nearly three years since the people of Flint, Michigan had clean drinking water flowing from their taps, yet only now are the responsible parties being brought to justice. A former top state health official was sentenced to one year’s probation Monday for her role in the Flint water crisis, and seven other state employees charged in connection with the lead contamination of the city’s drinking water will have preliminary examinations later this year.

Corinne Miller, the retired head of the Health and Human Services Epidemiology Department, had pleaded no contest in September to a charge of willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail. But under a sentencing agreement, Judge Jennifer Manley of Flint’s 67th District Court spared Miller incarceration, with conditions that include her continued cooperation with the state attorney general’s investigation into the water crisis.

The seven other state employees face charges ranging from misconduct in office to tampering with evidence. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office said actions—and inaction—by state health employees led to Flint using its river for drinking water from April 2014 until October 2015 without employing corrosion controls to prevent lead contamination. Unsuspecting Flint residents, including thousands of children, were exposed to water with high concentrations of lead. The resulting crisis has been linked to several deaths, including cases of Legionnaires’ disease. It has made international news as officials scrambled to provide filters and bottled water to families.

“(Miller) was the first one to come forward and face the music,” Todd Flood, special prosecutor in the case, told reporters outside the courtroom Monday. “And she is continuing to cooperate.” Besides providing her help, Miller must stay crime-free, do 300 hours of community service, pay $1,325 in court costs and fees, and write a letter apologizing to the citizens of Flint, Manley ordered Monday.

Flood declined to discuss whether others might be charged in the Flint investigation. He argued successfully last Monday against a request from defense attorneys for the dismissal of misconduct charges against Michael Francis-Gerard Prysby, a district engineer, and Stephen Benjamin Busch, a DEQ district supervisor, and other defendants.

Prysby, Busch, and the five other defendants will have preliminary examinations later this year to determine if they will stand trial on charges that can carry up to five years in prison and fines. “I do certainly understand the seriousness of a preliminary exam . . . but I am not going to make a ruling on whether” to dismiss charges at this point, said Judge Manley.

Lessons drawn from the readings

The thirsty Israelites grumbled during their desert sojourn and turned against their leader Moses until he was able—with divine assistance—to provide them with fresh water. Our own leaders should take note of the message of the first reading—meet the people’s most basic needs!

Final thought in light of the news

Flint has not had clean drinking water since April 25, 2014, when the city switched its drinking water supply to the Flint River. Since news broke of Flint’s water crisis, celebrities, and politicians have exploited the crisis to elevate their images, cast blame on their opponents, and boost fundraising for their own endeavors—all while Flint’s water remains polluted. Let’s call our leaders to real accountability, not posturing. They must preserve and protect the most basic and precious of resources—clean drinking water. Without water there is no life, the greatest gift of our Creator. Let’s honor that gift through good stewardship.