Measures To Relieve Flint’s Water Crisis Underway

Michigan State Police troopers and other state officials will start a door-to-door sweep of Flint on Tuesday to hand out bottled water and water filters, and the White House says it is monitoring the situation “very closely”.

At a press conference, Snyder was repeatedly questioned about the state’s admitted mishandling of the water emergency and whether he knew it was a major problem before he addressed it in a press conference in early October.

At the firehouses, “residents can pick up all of the resources they need to ensure their drinking water is safe, including bottled water, water filters, replacement cartridges and water testing kits”, Kelenske said. Exposure to lead can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children. Several top officials have resigned, and Snyder apologized.

According to a task force appointed by the state’s governor, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality dropped the ball and potentially exposed thousands to harmful toxins. This past weekend, current Flint Mayor Karen Weaver stated that it may take as much as $1.5 billion to fix the city’s water distribution system. The problem dates back to the city’s switch to the Flint River as its primary drinking water source. “We’ve worked hard, but we need to get more connection to the citizens of Flint”, Snyder said. This week’s state declaration of Emergency comes some 20 months after the switch. She is glad the State of MI is finally stepping in to help, she says the help isn’t coming fast enough. In 2014, to save money, the city began using the polluted Flint River as its water source.

Officials said more than 12,000 filters have been passed out so far to Flint’s roughly 33,000 households and more than 2,000 blood tests have taken place since October with 43 people testing positive for high blood levels.

He said he is responsible for what goes on in state government.

“This is from – this is not a third world country”, she said.

The Director of Public Affairs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency confirms to NBC 25 News that two liaisons are in Michigan giving technical assistance to the Michigan Operations Center regarding the Flint water crisis.

The news came as local organizations and out-of-state donors worked to provide drinking water, as residents criticized the governor for declaring a state of emergency without backing it up.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also weighed in on Monday, applauding the Justice Department for opening an investigation.