Flint Water Flagged As Poor Weeks Before Free Bottles Ended
FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Michigan environmental experts warned that Flint's water system had "significant deficiencies" just weeks before Gov. Rick Snyder announced an end to bottled water service that was introduced to allay a lead-tainted water crisis.
A surface water treatment engineer detailed 10 unresolved issues in a March 21 letter to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver. The letter says the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has no confidence in Flint's capacity to manage the system.
Snyder announced April 6 an end to free bottled water distribution, citing two years of testing showing home water levels below the federal action level for lead.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich says Snyder's administration has struggled to rebuild trust since 2014, when it wrongly assured Flint residents that water provided from the Flint River was safe to drink.