MI governor requests support from FEMA in Flint’s drinking water crisis

Governor Rick Snyder has activated National Guard units to go to work in Flint.

This is the second time Snyder has activated the National Guard. “We hope it can flush out -or more water testing – someone needs to be held accountable for it”, said Jemison.

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.

Officials announced over the weekend that water, filters and replacement cartridges will be distributed from five city fire stations.

For months, water drawn from the Flint River leached lead from old plumbing into homes after the city switched its drinking water in 2014 from Detroit’s system to save money.

“I’m glad the state is putting in resources and we welcome the Michigan National Guard with open arms”, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in a statement.

The city switched back to the Detroit water supply previous year but the lead levels remain higher than acceptable because the chemicals used to treat the water have not fully stopped the water from leaching lead from the pipes, a state spokeswoman told ABC News last month. Lead exposure can cause learning disabilities and behavioural problems in children.

The lawsuit alleged those complicit in the crisis imposed “serious personal injury” by exposing residents to “the extreme toxicity of water pumped from the Flint River into their homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces and public places”.

Kildee says in a statement that “thousands of children of Flint who have been poisoned are the victims in this situation”.

Lt. Col. William Humes, a Michigan National Guard spokesman, said about 40 members of the Guard are expected to be deployed here in response to Gov. Rick Snyder’s decision to activate the unit Tuesday, Jan. 12. The emergency manager, to cut costs, switched Flint’s water supply source from Lake Huron, supplied by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, to the more polluted and corrosive Flint River.

On Tuesday – more than three months later – the Michigan State Police and other state officials had just begun delivering bottled water and water filters door-to-door in Flint. More than 30 Guardsmen will be in Flint by Friday, joining the American Red Cross volunteers who have been bringing water bottles and filters door-to-door, CBS News reports. He’s asking people to report potential scams to police, including people trying to sell filters they got for free.

Though the U.S. has successfully eliminated lead from paint, vehicle exhaust, water, and soil, it still shows up in millions of children across the country.

The water crisis in Flint did not have to happen.

The state asked for the help, but Snyder has not yet made a request through FEMA for federal financial aid, an official said Saturday.