A Flint attorney who sued over the water rates claims city officials and emergency managers used the water and sewer money to fund the overall operations of the city, instead of being exclusively used for the city’s sewer fund.
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If Flint’s water fund becomes insolvent, the general fund would likely run out of cash within a month, Lundquist told The News after her committee testimony.
Adding more weight to the storm, a public interest group now says that the residents of Flint, Michigan paid more for water a year ago than most Americans.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta reports on Gov. Snyder saying the federal government should share blame for the Flint water crisis.
The survey looked at the 500 largest water systems in the country. He was responding Tuesday to threats of a protest by national civil rights activists if a plan to fix Flint’s infrastructure isn’t released in 30 days. But, he says the US Environmental Protection Agency is also to blame.
The median income in Flint is $24,834, compared with $48,411 in the state, and 42 percent of the city’s population lives below the poverty level, compared with 17 percent in MI, according to U.S. Census data.
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State regulators never required that the river water be treated to make it less corrosive, causing lead from plumbing and pipes to leach into the water supply.
