Though Flint River water was cheaper, it also proved to be much more corrosive, and as it coursed through the town’s poorly maintained pipelines, it leeched trace metals and other risky substances from the surrounding environment, leaving the tap water foul-smelling, strangely colored, and filled with lead.
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The Republican governor said residents should use filters and bottled water until Flint’s switch back to Detroit water is assessed.
The water resource sites will be open from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. each day. The members will include state government officials, local officials and experts appointed by the governor.
Since October, more than 12,000 filters have been distributed, more than 2,000 blood tests have been done and more than 700 water tests have been conducted, Snyder said.
“We thought it was just ridiculous”.
Snyder’s office said in a statement late Thursday night that it had asked for the declarations and is seeking additional federal aid for both individuals and public agencies involved in the effort to provide Flint residents with clean drinking water. The drinking water from this new source created a number of health threats, including high levels of lead.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said city residents have been waiting for the governor to visit and thanked Snyder for his assistance, but two legislators said the governor needs to act sooner and appoint committees later. Lead can cause irreversible brain and developmental damage in children and infants who ingest it through water or lead-based paint. The state could ask for federal help at a later date. “We don’t want people to assume anything is good until we have a chance to do extensive testing and (announce results) publicly”. “We had to come up here and do what we could to help”, Amru Meah says.
Flint Police Captain Collin Birnie said there were no arrests during the protest. The city returned to Detroit’s Lake Huron water in October after various problems, but officials remain concerned about the corrosion caused by the Flint River water.
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Gov. Rick Snyder signs the bill allocating funds for Flint to hook up to Detroit water system. “The scandal cost the state’s top environmental regulator his job, and the U.S. Justice Department has joined an Environmental Protection Agency investigation into what happened”.
