Did Michigan hide facts about lead in Flint’s water?

The state auditor general and a task force created by Snyder have faulted the Department of Environmental Quality for not requiring Flint to treat the river water for corrosion and belittling the public’s fears.

The United Way of Genesee County is taking donations to pay for bottled water, filters and prevention efforts in Flint. Federal aid could include could include grants for temporary housing, home repairs, low-priced loans to cover uninsured property loans and other programs.

Rick Snyder activated the National Guard to help the American Red Cross distribute water to Flint residents to help them deal with the lead contamination that is in the City of Flint’s water supply.

Federal officials are now investigating whether an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease there has been caused by the drinking water, and the state has been forced to haul in bottled water for citizens to drink.

Schuette also said he’ll do everything he can to ensure Flint families are protected.

But he said a department director such as Lyon can only rely on the information his scientists are giving him, and he said he’s also not clear on exactly what information was being sent to the state by the Genesee County health authority.

The Attorney General’s office says they will be checking if any MI laws were violated during the state’s handling of the crisis.

“We are now working very closely with local leaders and are reaching out to researchers who have been involved with the issue [so] we can work together on making sure Flint residents have access to safe, clean water”, Dave Murray, press secretary for Snyder, told CNN. More damningly, in September a report found that the levels of lead in young children’s blood had more than doubled since the switch.

The memo, written by an EPA water expert, went on to note that several of the city of Flint’s sampling procedures were flawed and data might therefore be compromised.

A June 2015 leaked internal memo from the Environmental Protection Agency raised the issue, saying high lead results in the drinking water were a “serious concern”. He said work on the investigation will begin immediately.

Paying down debt, fixing roads, and helping Flint with the water crisis have all been mentioned.

Snyder responded to the emergency by investing $1 million in water filters for the city to reduce the lead, followed shortly by an announcement that they would reconnect to the original Lake Huron water supply. Exposure to lead can cause behaviour problems and learning disabilities in children as kidney ailments in adults.