Members of the United Auto Workers union are donating bottled drinking water to Flint residents as the city deals with elevated lead levels in its drinking water, and officials have designated several firehouses as distribution points for people seeking filters and other resources.
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Right now, the State of MI should be able to say that it has ensured the delivery of bottled water and water filters to every Flint resident whose drinking water has been contaminated by lead…. It’s not coming from the State, but from people who live in it. Amru and Marlisa Meah drove from Beverly Hills to the Mission of Hope Church to donate more than 80 cases of water.
“I have a degree of responsibility”, he said.
Snyder apologized for state government’s role in the crisis.
Flint is not the first city in the Midwest to have a drinking water crisis. “MDEQ even initiated a “Flint Water Communications Plan” campaign at DHHS, to promote how safe Flint water was to drink, as a direct response to work by Virginia Tech and Flint residents that were showing otherwise”. The city has since switched back, but lead levels in its water supplies remain high.
Since October, more than 12,000 filters have been distributed, more than 2,000 blood tests have been done and more than 700 water tests have been conducted, Snyder said.
The chief of staff to President Barack Obama said the White House is watching the Flint situation “very closely”. According to the World Health Organization, “Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects, particularly affecting the development of the brain and nervous system”.
In addition to the water resource sites, home water testing kits are available at Flint City Hall, the Flint Water Treatment Plant or Flint Fire Department locations, the Michigan State Police said. Many residents have called for state money to replace the city’s old pipe infrastructure – which the mayor has said could cost up to $1.5 billion – and a fund to address any developmental impact on children.
“I can stand up here and fight with him or I can get the people out there what they need”, she said.
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“They’re not ideological warriors, they’re technocrats who we thought, at a minimum, were the competent guys”, Todd said.
