In wake of Flint water crisis, House passes drinking water safety bill

“We were deeply disturbed”, their statement says, “to observe the indignity people have faced and continue to live with in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and in a city that was a symbol of America’s prosperity”. Snyder said the state must assume every child in the city has been exposed to lead.

Environmental engineer Marc Edwards tells The Associated Press the comment by former Flint public works director Howard Croft was a “contrived explanation after the fact that makes no sense”. The decision to switch was made when Flint was run by a series of emergency managers appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.

Levels of toxic lead contamination can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and home to home because not all plumbing materials are made of lead. It’s part of broader outreach efforts by state and local officials.

It’s unclear exactly where the water replacement will begin in the city, but retired National Guard Brig. “It was determined that having more data was advisable prior to the commitment of a specific optimization method”. He says most chemicals used for that are phosphate-based, which can encourage bacteria. Flint authorities said that residents should take the same precautions when using water for making ice, washing dishes, preparing food and brushing teeth, according to the release. In addition to e-mails publicized last week by liberal nonprofit Progress Michigan, the Detroit Free Press acquired thousand of pages of e-mails from Genesee County, also through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. They are, however, asking that Flint residents avoid giving the tainted water to their dogs, as lead poisoning in canines can lead to gastrointestinal issues, weakness and even seizures, the report added.

If consumed, lead can cause developmental delays and learning disabilities.

Susan Bohm, a disease specialist in the DHHS, wrote in an October 17, 2014, email that she’s spoken with the state’s top drinking water officials, Liane Shekter Smith, about the outbreak.

A January 2015 advisory from the budget agency’s headquarters assured the Flint office that pure bottled water “will be provided [on each floor of the Flint office] as long as the public water does not meet treatment requirements”.

“This is a hindsight explanation”, Edwards said.

“We certainly aren’t looking at cuts, which always when you go into the budget you worry about because of the Flint issues and Detroit Public Schools issues but it’s not happening”, said Sen.

The EPA has also been criticized for not taking tangible steps to stop the Flint crisis and notify residents of danger, despite being aware of it. A hearing on a new bill from Kildee, to require the EPA to notify residents of increased lead levels in water, was also held on Wednesday. “It’s not us who failed them, they failed us”.

MLive is reporting that Gov. Snyder ordered the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to withhold lead test results until they figured out how to best tell the public of the dangers.

EPA has also taken blame.