Gov. Rick Snyder made it official Friday, signing a bill to provide funding to cope with ramifications of tainted water, damaged pipes and health problems for those who drank from the tap before authorities finally sounded the alarm. Residents noticed the water smelled and looked dirty, but they were told by officials that the water was safe to drink.
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The city’s water is now undrinkable after it became contaminated when Flint switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River as a cost-cutting move.
Snyder signed into law $28 million in emergency funding for Flint today, bringing the total allocated to the city so far to almost $39 million.
The state has come under fire for its handling of the Flint water crisis up until now, with some demanding Snyder’s resignation.
The panel chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said on Friday that representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality will testify, alongside Flint’s former emergency manager, Darnell Earley, who resigned earlier this month.
Chicago firefighter Eric Washington and a team of friends will wrap up efforts today to get donations of bottled water for the people of Flint, Michigan.
The state has spent about $4,200 since January of 2015 on purified water for the State Office Building, Buhs said.
“We have identified, in terms of test results even over the last few months, about 45 kids out of a couple of thousands tested that have high blood lead levels, but we are assuming a lot of other kids could have it because lead in blood only stays for so long”, the governor said.
On Feb. 3, 2015, the governor granted the city $2 million to help with water system infrastructure improvements, such as finding leaks and replacing the wastewater incinerator. “I’ll tell you what-if the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would’ve been action” says Hillary Clinton. “The problem of treating those sickened by the water and building a new, safe water system for the city is so enormous that all the religious groups working together won’t be able to solve it”.
“I think the government did fail them”, Tisdahl said Friday.
Murray said one water cooler was placed on each floor and next to public drinking fountains.
According to the council, a number of Muslim-American non-profit and aid organizations have also joined forces to deliver more than 110,000 bottles of water to Flint residents last week.
The Cruz campaign gave out bottled water to “Flint women in crisis pregnancy centers, homeless shelters, and low-income high-rise apartment buildings”. “We have a situation where people can not drink the water coming out of the tap”.
“This service is so important because water is basic necessity, without water we obviously cant survive and right now they’re having a hard time”, said Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity member Tristan Ebron. She says she yelled “How was your water?”
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Snyder has accepted responsibility for the emergency while also blaming state and federal environmental regulators, and a Congressional hearing has been scheduled for next week. Yankee suggests every homeowner should check the paint at home – lead tests are available at hardware stores – especially when remodeling is going to take place.
