Cher donates thousands of bottles of water to Flint during crisis

Cher is donating water to the city’s 100,000 residents as they struggled with a drinking-water problem linked to lead contamination.

U.S. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in MI on Saturday and ordered federal aid for state and local response efforts in the county where the city of Flint has been contending with lead-contaminated drinking water.

The Michigan attorney general and the federal Justice Department are also investigating whether any laws were broken.

Governor Snyder sent two requests to the president: one asking the president to allow immediate assistance for water, food, and generators and another asking the president to declare a major disaster, which could qualify the city for millions of federal dollars to provide long-term solutions to the aging infrastructure. Emergency funding is initially limited to $5 million, and the president must alert Congress if additional resources are needed.

“And that local Flint River was innately more corrosive than the Great Lakes water source”.

Some Flint residents sued Snyder, other officials, MI and the city on January 7 in Genesee County court and are seeking class action status covering all residents. But officials remain concerned that damaged pipes could continue to leach lead.

However, an exception has been made for Flint where residents have complained of rashes and headaches. Since then, Snyder has begun using the National Guard, in combination with NGO relief efforts, to distribute bottled water, filters, and tests to Flint residents.

Earlier this month, Moore launched a petition drive on his Web site that called for Snyder’s arrest on charges of corruption and assault.

FEMA has been authorized to identify, mobilize and provide equipment and resources necessary to alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the contaminated water in Flint and avert the threat of a catastrophe.

Flint returned to the Detroit system in October after elevated lead levels were discovered in children and could tap into the new pipeline by summer. There’s no estimate on the cost of the long-term health effects on Flint residents who drank lead-tainted water for more than a year. Lead exposure can cause learning disabilities and behavioural problems in children.