Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for the agency that manages state buildings, told the Associated Press that the watercoolers were introduced at the state building after Flint failed drinking water tests that had nothing to do with the lead issues that residents now face. The notification stated that water coolers were being installed on each occupied floor next to the drinking fountains so that state workers could choose to continue to drink Flint water or a safe alternative.
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Protesters have been rallying outside Snyder’s residence, saying he didn’t act swiftly enough to help Flint residents. Instead, the lawsuit wants the federal government to step in and do what local officials haven’t.
Jake May/AP Michigan has been getting thousands of donations in bottles of water, but Michael Moore said it won’t be helpful.
Michael Moore has called out on the public – celebrities, politicians, ordinary citizens and the like – to stop sending bottled waters to Flint, Mich., as he believes that it will not help solve the ongoing crisis.
The governor’s spokesman Dave Murray said the water was for both employees and residents visiting the building, which includes the Department of Health and Human Services, starting in January 2015.
A 2015 notice from the department that oversees state government buildings – the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) – mentions a violation of water standards in Flint.
It’s the second round of state aid for the city since the crisis was confirmed in the fall, bringing the total allocated to almost $39 million.
“We aren’t completely sure why” the readings are so high, Lurie said.
In Flint, residents complained about their water quality for more than a year before Snyder admitted it had become poisonous.
“Trying to understand what’s going on there and making sure that all of our processes are in place to try to prevent things like that from happening”, Jade Dundas, the director of Asheville’s Water Resources Department, said.
Snyder has accepted responsibility for the emergency while also blaming state and federal environmental regulators, some of whom have resigned or have been suspended.
“And zero percent of those people knew (previously) that they had lead in the water”, Swistock said.
He compared what is happening in Flint with what happened in Toledo during the summer of 2014 when a toxic mat of algae coated Lake Erie and cut off water for a half million people for several days. Flint also has a large population of children between the ages of five and 16, who are more susceptible to lead poisoning.
The Michigan Senate has unanimously approved $28 million in additional funding to address the lead contamination of Flint’s water. The notices also said, however, that the tap water was safe for healthy people to drink.
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In an investigative report from The Detroit News, cities throughout the state such as Grand Rapids, Jackson, Detroit, Saginaw, Muskegon, and Holland have seen higher cases of lead in children as far back as 2013.
