Snyder declared a state of emergency last week after blood tests found 43 children with elevated lead levels, NBC reports. And those bills have not stopped coming or been reduced since state and local officials acknowledged the water is unsafe to drink without filtering.
Advertisement
Details about the plan are scheduled to be announced Thursday in Flint.
Exposure to lead can cause learning disabilities in children and other problems, officials say.
According to Snyder, more than 12,000 filters have been distributed since October, along with 700 water tests and more than 2,000 blood tests – more than 40 of which showed elevated levels of lead. Snyder said Monday he wanted to “push on (state) departments” after hearing concerns from the community, and the agencies “reaffirmed they didn’t believe there was an issue”.
Kildee said in a statement.
The Detroit Free Press reports Guard members will be at fire stations in the city to hand out bottled water, lead-test kits and filters to city residents.
Gov. Rick Snyder activated the National Guard late Tuesday, and Lt. Col. William Humes confirmed about a half-dozen representatives arrived Wednesday morning. The support of the National Guard will enable American Red Cross volunteers, who have been staffing the water resource sites since January 9, to join the efforts of the water resource teams going door to door in Flint neighborhoods to distribute bottled water, water filters, replacement cartridges and testing kits.
The governor has also reached out to Washington for help through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“As we work to ensure that all Flint residents have access to clean and safe drinking water, we are providing them with the direct assistance they need”, the Republican governor said in a written statement. He referenced floods in Detroit, saying it took more than 30 days to go through the process.
Flint police meanwhile warned people to be wary of scammers. Over the next year and a half, a series of public announcements and troubling disclosures, many of them first reported by investigative journalist Curt Guyette, described Flint’s deteriorating water quality and growing public dismay.
The exhibit, titled “Water’s Extreme Journey”, will open January 23 at the Sloan Museum and will close May 8.
The governor has apologized, there have been resignations at MEDQ and the state has helped pay for switching back to Detroit’s water system, but these moves are only the beginning.
Advertisement
Gov. Rick Snyder called out the National Guard on Tuesday night to distribute bottled water and filters in Flint, where the tap water is contaminated with lead.
