Amid denials, state workers in Flint got clean water

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[h=4]Amid denials, state workers in Flint got clean water[/h]State officials could not immediately answer questions about the water purchases, including how long the state continued to buy bottled water for state employees while telling Flint residents the water was safe to drink.

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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver met with area pastors in the city dealing with lead-tainted drinking water. Snyder says it's important for officials to engage with residents as much as possible. (Jan. 28) AP


The state started buying bottled water for its employees in Flint in January 2015.(Photo: Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press)


LANSING, Mich. — In January 2015, when state officials were telling worried Flint residents their water was safe to drink, they also were arranging for coolers of purified water in Flint's State Office Building so employees wouldn't have to drink from the taps, according to state government emails released Thursday by the liberal group Progress Michigan.
A Jan. 7, 2015, notice from the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which oversees state office buildings, references a notice about a violation of drinking water standards that had recently been sent out by the city of Flint.
"While the City of Flint states that corrective actions are not necessary, DTMB is in the process of providing a water cooler on each occupied floor, positioned near the water fountain, so you can choose which water to drink," said the notice.
"The coolers will arrive today and will be provided as long as the public water does not meet treatment requirements."
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State officials could not immediately answer emailed questions about the water purchases, including how long the state continued to buy bottled water for state employees in Flint while telling Flint residents the water was safe to drink.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>An official said the administration was "looking into these issues."
Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, said it appears the state was not as slow as initially thought in responding to the Flint drinking water crisis.
“Sadly, the only response was to protect the Snyder administration from future liability and not to protect the children of Flint,” Scott said. “While residents were being told to relax and not worry about the water, the Snyder administration was taking steps to limit exposure in its own building.”
After months of downplaying concerns, including warnings from researchers about high lead levels in both the drinking water and in the blood of Flint children, the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged around Oct. 1 a problem that is now a full-blown public health crisis garnering international headlines.
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Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant resigned in December after acknowledging that officials failed to require the city to use needed corrosion control chemicals when they switched the source of their supply from Lake Huron water treated by Detroit to Flint River water treated at the Flint water treatment plant.
The lack of corrosion controls caused lead to leach from pipes, joints and fixtures into an unknown number of Flint households beginning in April 2014, when the city began using the Flint River as a temporary cost-cutting move while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. Flint customers were switched back to Detroit water in October, but the potential danger persists because of damage to the water distribution infrastructure.
Snyder declared a state of emergency on Jan. 5 and a week later called out the Michigan National Guard to help distribute bottled water and water filters in Flint. The state of emergency, which was set to expire next week, was extended Thursday through April 14.
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