Throughout the crisis, Gov. Snyder appeared indifferent while state officials defended the emergency manager’s actions and repeatedly rejected claims that there was anything wrong with Flint’s water.
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Eggert reported from Lansing, Michigan.
There was also a free clinic held at a local elementary school for anyone wanting blood-testing done for lead levels in their systems.
Genesee County sheriff’s Capt. Casey Tafoya has said volunteers and police hoped to get to 500 to 600 houses a day in a city of about 99,000 residents with an estimated 30,000 households.
On Tuesday – more than three months later – the Michigan State Police and other state officials had just begun delivering bottled water and water filters door-to-door in Flint. Lead causes serious developmental and behavioral issues in children.
Mr Snyder declared an emergency last week.
Snyder’s office said it is asking FEMA to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Army Corps of Engineers.
Flint residents have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city and state of endangering their health.
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.
Though the water sourced from Detroit is considerably cleaner, public health officials are still concerned that the year of drawing water from the Flint River may have left residual lead in the pipes.
Members of the National Guard are expected to start arriving in Flint as early as Wednesday to assist with response efforts and plan to increase to over 30 personnel by Friday. They also want to ensure monitoring protocols are properly followed.
But Overton told the Free Press that Snyder should have known much sooner because he and other pastors and citizens had been meeting with Snyder’s chief of staff, his director of urban affairs and his department heads, raising concerns about the water for months prior to October 1.
On Tuesday, braving cold temperatures and 3ins (7.62cm) of snow, eight teams of volunteers fanned out across the city under the escort of state troopers and sheriff’s deputies to deliver bottled water, filters and lead test kits.
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“At the State of the Union tonight, I spoke to President Obama and reiterated my call for federal assistance due to the lack of a sufficient response from the state”, Kildee said in a statement late Tuesday. “Flint residents are the victims in this crisis and they deserve a more urgent response equal to the gravity of this crisis”.
