Report: State Officials Aware of Problem with Flint River Water
Documents reportedly reveal state environmental officials knew untreated Flint River water could harm residents.
State officials reportedly knew of problems with Flint’s water supply long before the city switched to a new system that may have contaminated those who used it with lead poisoning.
A study commissioned by Flint and delivered to state environmental officials in 2013 reportedly revealed that water drawn from the city’s river could put residents at risk unless it was first treated with a certain chemical.
The Detroit Free Press reports that documents show the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approved the city’s plan to begin using water from the Flint River anyway without it being treated with the necessary chemical.
Flint recently rejoined Detroit’s water system after researchers found some children drinking Flint’s water had double, and sometimes triple, the typical amount of lead in their bloodstream.
Governor Rick Snyder has created a task force to examine how the situation developed while members of both Congress and the state legislature are requesting that the Environmental Protection Agency investigate the matter.
