Governor Activates National Guard For Flint Water Crisis

Flint, about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit, returned to using Detroit water in October after tests found some children had elevated levels of lead in their blood and lead was found in higher-than-acceptable levels in the water.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has called up members of the Michigan National Guard to help distribute bottled, filters and other supplies to residents in Flint dealing with water highly contaminated with lead. Here, he speaks to the Michigan Municipal League in 2011.

Flint residents have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city and state of endangering their health. More than 30 National Guard members are expected to arrive by Friday.

The city switched its water source from the Detroit system in April 2014 as a temporary solution while a pipeline is completed to bring water from Lake Huron’s Karegnondi Water Authority. That was when Flint’s state-appointed emergency manager made a decision to switch the city’s water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River.

The plan, which was strong on the value of “cost-saving”, but received scant evaluation for its technical feasibility, quickly unraveled. Flint residents, many of whom live at or below the poverty line, are still being billed for the water that’s poisoning their kids.

“The Michigan National Guard is trained and ready to assist the citizens of Flint”. The state first acknowledged the drinking water crisis in October, after denying there was a problem.

On Tuesday, braving cold temperatures and 3ins (7.62cm) of snow, eight teams of volunteers fanned out across the city under the escort of state troopers and sheriff’s deputies to deliver bottled water, filters and lead test kits. Lead exposure can impair both mental and physical development in children, sometimes causing “profound and permanent adverse health effects”, according to the World Health Organization.

Edwards said city and state officials failed to implement proper corrosion control when it began taking untreated water from the Flint River, causing lead from aged pipes to seep into the water. Residents immediately began complaining that the faucet water was brown, unsafe to drink and smelled bad.

The governor apologized to the city in December.

“At the State of the Union tonight, I spoke to President Obama and reiterated my call for federal assistance due to the lack of a sufficient response from the state”, Kildee said in a statement late Tuesday.

Recommended: Think you know the US? But the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality apparently ignored the report’s recommendations.

The confirmation of the break-in came less than a week after U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told reporters that a federal investigation was underway to look into Flint’s water crisis.