MI gave employees bottled water before Flint residents

For Pennsylvanians watching the lead contamination problem in Flint, Michigan, and wondering whether their drinking water is safe, one water-resources specialist at Penn State University says residents with private wells, especially, should consider having their water tested.

A notice by the state’s Department of Technology, Management, and Budget talked about giving a water cooler to each floor, near a water fountain, so workers can choose.

– Snyder has estimated the cost of replacing Flint’s water supply infrastructure at $767.4 million, although local officials say it could cost twice as much. As early as January 2015, people employed with the State who worked in Flint had bottled water available to them.

Mother Jones reported January 28 that according to newly released emails, MI officials began shipping clean water to its employees before publicly acknowledging the city’s water contamination crisis.

Flint’s problem, Casey said in a conference call with reporters Thursday, “is a test for the country….”

During this time, both city and state officials were denying that Flint’s water was risky.

Tom Gores, a Flint native and owner of the Detroit Pistons, pledged Thursday to raise $10 million to address the short- and long-term needs of his MI hometown.

In an investigative report from The Detroit News, cities throughout the state such as Grand Rapids, Jackson, Detroit, Saginaw, Muskegon, and Holland have seen higher cases of lead in children as far back as 2013.

“As we know now, there was a failure at all levels of government regarding Flint water”, Murray wrote in an email Thursday evening. Residents have been cautioned against drinking the water, cooking with it, and using it for bathing.

“I’ll never drink this water again, never ever drink this water again”, Wiley said.

Until October 2015, the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder maintained that it was unaware of high levels of lead in Flint’s water.

Dr. Nicole Lurie of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the lead level in some Flint locations has exceeded 150 parts per billion, which is the level for which water filters are graded.

“The fact is, we work for the people”, he said. The city notified water customers at the time that it was in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act but described the water as safe to drink.

During his State of the State address last week, Snyder asked the Legislature to give quick approval to the $28 million for Flint and noted that he will be making additional requests for funding for the city.

Michigan DEQ Director Dan Wyant resigned in December after acknowledging officials failed to require the city to use needed corrosion control chemicals when they switched the source of their supply to Lake Huron water treated by Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint water treatment plant.

As a resident of Shelby Township I actively sought to have the governor recalled for his actions toward my retirement income, the credibility of teachers and his replacement of elected mayors with “emergency managers” throughout MI.

But, Scott said this should have been enough to raise even more questions.