Rick Snyder activated the National Guard to help distribute bottled water and filters to the 100,000 residents of Flint, Mich., whose water has become unsafe to drink because of lead contamination.
Advertisement
The “goal is to get to every household in Flint… what they need in terms of water to be successful while we go through this period until we get a long-term solution”, he said Tuesday during a tour of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Free Press says criticism of Snyder and the state’s response to the crisis continues.
Larry Wilmore examined the humanitarian crisis going on in Flint, Michigan, where residents have been poisoned by toxic, lead-tainted water.
Gov. Snyder also requested support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which said it would help coordinate a recovery plan for the city with other federal agencies. Most alarmingly, a September report found the proportion of infants and children with an above-average level of lead in their blood had almost doubled since the water switch was made. I’m glad the State is putting in resources and we welcome the Michigan National Guard with open arms.
MI health officials say there’s been an increase in Legionnaires’ disease cases during periods over the past two years in the county where Flint is located.
This is the second time Snyder has activated the National Guard.
Rick Snyder has called in the state’s National Guard to help with the alarming water crisis in Flint.
Since officials in Flint switched the city’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River in early 2014, complaints about the smell of the water and high levels of lead in children have piled up.
State troopers and sheriff’s deputies began escorting eight teams Tuesday morning, trudging through 3 inches of snow. Lead is known to cause permanent mental and physical disabilities.
Rick Snyder’s statement Monday that he wasn’t aware of a problem with lead in Flint’s drinking water until about October 1 has prompted new questions about the role of Snyder’s office in quietly delivering 1,500 water filters to the city in August.
The director of that agency resigned last month.
Advertisement
Flint has since returned to Detroit’s system for its water, but officials remain concerned that damage to the pipes caused by the Flint River means that lead could continue to impair supply. “Sadly, myself and many leaders of my community have advocated for this type of response for months”. The task force blatantly blamed Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for Flint’s water problems, MLive reported, writing to the governor, “We believe the primary responsibility for what happened in Flint rests with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality”.
