Asheville’s Preventive Measures to Avoid Flint Water Crisis

Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for DTMB, said the water coolers were provided in response to the city health notice in late December or early January, which he acknowledged was about a contamination issue the city said had already subsided. But the document shows that at the same time that some state officials were telling Flint locals that their water was safe to drink, others were arranging for bottled water for state employees. “The new recycling initiative brings together state, county and city partners to make sure we are keeping plastic bottles from entering landfills or littering Flint streets”.

Outside the mayor’s offices, where the meeting was taking place, Lila Cabbil (LIE’-luh KAB’-uhl) of the People’s Water Board and Lynna Kaucheck (LIN’-uh KAW-‘chek) of Food and Water Watch showed off the 21,000-plus petition signatures they were delivering. “Because everybody don’t have transportation to get to the locations to get the water, and they say that there’s long lines and they’re only giving out one case of water”.

“While bottled water has been key to making sure residents have safe drinking water, it’s important to make sure we’re not harming our environment as a result”, Calley said. It was then the lack of corrosion controls caused lead to leach from the pipes. State officials were in charge of the city at the time.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will soon sign into law $28 million in emergency funding to address Flint’s lead-contaminated water.

The coolers were introduced after Flint officials warned residents about elevated levels of a disinfection byproduct called trihalomethane in the city’s water.

To save money, the city began temporarily getting its drinking water from the Flint River and treating it in the city water treatment plant while it waited for a new water pipeline to Lake Huron to be finished.

The Hill reported that a group led by Michigan Senators Gary Peters (D) and Debbie Stabenow (D) is sponsoring an amendment, to be included in the Senate’s wide-ranging energy bill, which would release $600 million in funds.

In turn, NBC News reporter Stephanie Gosk pressed the embattled governor on how his decision to continue using the pipes that poisoned the water supply would affect his relationship with Flint’s residents, who do not trust him.

The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports on the Flint emergency funding bill passed by the Michigan Legislature.

Snyder said the extension ensures Flint residents will have access to bottled water, filters, and testing kits, while long-term solutions are sought. Gov. Rick Snyder claimed that he was unaware of the high levels of lead in the water. He says Flint once was a “cornerstone of American industry”, and that people “from coast to coast” need to step up. He’s studied the issue for 28 years and works with rural residents to test their well supplies and to treat lead and other problems.