Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced they’re providing free bottled water to about 10,000 Flint public school students through 2016.
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“I want to assure residents of Flint that the city, along with our federal and state partners, will continue efforts to support Flint’s recovery after the federal declaration ends on August 14″, Weaver said. Lead contamination has been linked to learning disabilities and other problems. Residents continue to utilize bottled water and filtered water. But officials said federal resources, health programs and monitoring efforts will remain in place. In fact, promotion of bottled water as a healthy beverage option has been going on for more than a decade. After the declaration ends, the state will shoulder the cost. That action spurred the Federal Emergency Management Agency into action – leading to an estimated 20 million liters of water being sent to the beleaguered city, as well as 243,000 water filter replacement cartridges, and 50,000 water and pitcher filters. The improperly treated water released toxic lead from aging pipes and fixtures.
“Political decisions are made every day that jeopardize the quantity and quality of our drinking water”, Yaggi said.
Exposing that ecosystem to new water is what spiked the lead levels in Flint, creating a crisis that engulfed homes, schools, and businesses. At least $384 billion of improvements are needed to maintain and replace essential parts of the country’s water infrastructure through 2030, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of those pipes date back 140 years, to the founding of Bangor’s water system.
In Bangor, almost 30 percent of the 200 miles of water pipes under city streets are more than a century old and at risk of failing.
Kathleen Falk, HHS regional administrator, responds to questions from the media during a press conference about the continuation of water supplies and services to Flint residents on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016 at Flint City Hall in Flint, Mich. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, reaffirmed that the city will continue to provide resources to Flint residents after the federal emergency declaration expires on Aug. 14, 2016.
Kevin Besey, who heads food and water safety for the Michigan Department of Agriculture, said the Flint water crisis was also a food safety crisis that required shifting 38 staff members from his division into Flint to assist the two who were already assigned there.
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Nine current or former state employees have been criminally charged in connection with the crisis and an investigation by the state attorney general’s office is ongoing. Some of those defendants were expected to make court appearances in the city today.
