“I completely understand why some Flint residents are hesitant to drink the water and I am hopeful I can alleviate some of the skepticism and mistrust by putting words to action”, Snyder said.
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Michigan Governor Rick Snyder drinks some water as he testifies before a House Oversight and government Reform hearing on “Examining Federal Administration of the Safe Drinking Water Act in Flint, Michigan, Part III” on Capitol Hill in Washington March 17, 2016. The river produced corrosive water that leached from the pipes of the Flint water system, leading to widespread lead contamination, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Weaver told reporters Tuesday that the Republican should “come and stay” for 30 days if he “really wanted to know what it’s like to deal” with the lead-tainted water crisis.
However, Snyder is convinced that the water is drinkable. Their job is to improve water flow and to catch any particles that may be floating loose in a home’s pipes. His team collected several gallons of water from the home on Flint’s east side. “Flint residents made it clear that they would like to see me personally drink the water, so today I am fulfilling that request”.
The governor said he won’t always be able to drink the Flint tap water when he is travelling, but he plans to drink it when he is at his downtown Ann Arbor home and when he is at work in his office in the Romney Building in Lansing.
As officials work to implement safer infrastructure, experts say Flint’s tap water is safe to drink as long as a proper filter is used.
“We are encouraging residents to use filtered water for drinking and cooking”. However, many have been aimed at the engineering firm that advised the city of Flint to use water from the contaminated Flint river for the water treatment facility. “Because our goal has not changed, and that’s new pipes for the residents of the city of Flint”, Weaver said. He added that filtration is a “step forward” from bottled water.
Weaver said she plans to answer questions about the flushing program and the credit at a meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in the dome at Flint City Hall, 1101 Saginaw Street.
Karen Weaver, the mayor of Flint, declared a state of emergency for the city in December, a full month before Snyder responded to the crisis. Snyder appeared in front of Congress last month, while also dealing with multiple lawsuits, including a RICO complaint filed earlier this month on behalf of hundreds of Flint residents.
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She added, “We need to continue to put the pressure on and hold people accountable”.
