Amid water crisis, governor’s portrait made using lead paint

Dykehouse used white paint that’s made with lead in the painting as a permanent reminder of children affected in Flint.

Flint has become an issue in the presidential primary and Snyder, a Republican, has agreed to testify before congress about his role in the catastrophe. He’s faced criticism and protests, but has said he’s focusing on resolving Flint’s crisis.

A supplemental funding bill, pending final legislative approval, will allocate an additional $30 million to aid the city of Flint in crediting a portion of residents’ water bills going back to April 2014 for water that was unsuitable for consumption.

Auburn Hills City Manager Tom Tanghe said the city has received similar calls expressing concern, but for the most part, residents understand the issue is isolated to Flint.

Lead levels in the city’s water are “far under” the federal action limit and quality checks are performed every four hours, Brown added. The EPA says it urged a quicker state and local response.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it worked within the framework of the law to “repeatedly and urgently communicate” steps that the state of MI and city of Flint needed to take to properly treat Flint’s water. Mary Lawston, a retired widow, said that she still struggles to pay between $172 and $214 a month for water she and her grandchildren can’t use.

The measure now goes to the Senate, which is expected to approve it and send it to the governor for his signature. Flint is under a state of emergency because corrosive water was allowed to leach lead from pipes into the supply.

“Right now the focus is on locating the pipes and determining which are made of lead, then proceeding with a plan to replace them starting with the pipes deemed high-risk and high priority”, said Dave Murray, Snyder’s Press Secretary.

“I do have some concerns about how fast you do it”, Snyder said during a news conference at Rowe Professional Services, the Flint company retained Tuesday to do the analysis, which will include the replacement of 30 service lines by mid-March.

Flint residents paid a high price for being poisoned a year ago, on so many levels. The amount was proposed by Snyder last week in his budget presentation. “We need to get contractors out there now working to fix the problem”.

Flint has since reconnected to Detroit water.

Ham said potential homebuyers are already beginning to shy away from Flint because of the water crisis, and some financial lenders have started requiring water testing for homes in Flint and the surrounding areas before releasing money to purchase a house.

It says for pregnant and breast-feeding women and kids six and under, bottled water is the safest option.