The move is the latest by government officials to lessen the fallout from the lead poisoning of Flint’s water supply, following a state of emergency declaration by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R) last Tuesday. Officials announced Saturday that five city fire stations will serve as water resource sites for residents. The chief coordinator of the state’s response to the Flint crisis says social workers will be making door-to-door visits to make sure homes have water filters correctly installed, and children are getting the services they need.
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Flint has been dealing with water issues since April 2014, when the city began using the Flint River as its source.
The Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee will study the long-term effects of lead contamination on city residents and devise a strategy for addressing those effects. The city switched back, but lead levels remained high in water supplies, leaving groups like children at risk.
The Governor declared an emergency on January 5 to put in place distribution of water, water filters and water tests for residents.
This guaranteed that the water for the city would be carried by ancient pipes that leached lead into it. E-mails that finally have been pried loose from Snyder’s administration have revealed that the administration was fully aware of what was going on, and blew off the problem.
“It’s ridiculous we have to live in such a way”, said Colette Brown, a Flint native who months ago stopped drinking tap water.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, program director for pediatric residency at the Hurley Children’s Hospital at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan.
Let’s recap how we reached this point. Three liaison officers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are in MI to assist with emergency efforts, and the White House says it is closely monitoring the situation, but Snyder has not yet asked for federal financial assistance. Snyder said he may ask lawmakers for additional money for the emergency before his budget proposal in February.
The state auditor general and a task force created by Snyder have faulted the Department of Environmental Quality for not requiring Flint to treat the river water for corrosion and belittling the public’s fears.
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“To date, federal assistance has not been requested by the state”. As Michigan Radio points out, “that’s months after the Snyder administration acknowledged lead contamination of the city’s drinking water in September”.
