By Paul Egan The state announced Friday that the health of Flint’s drinking water has been restored and state distribution of free bottled water in the city is ending, likely within a few days.
The announcement drew immediate outrage from residents who say the water is still not safe to drink, four years after it became contaminated with lead as a result of errors made by the state Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies.
Flint Gets Some Control Back Over Its Own Finances And a run on remaining free bottled water was under way in Flint on Friday afternoon, with long lines of vehicles forming outside depots that were scheduled to close at 6 p.m. "It’s too quick," said Flint activist Melissa Mays of the group Water You Fighting For.
Rick Snyder’s office said in a news release.
Free water filters and replacement cartridges will remain available at City Hall for residents who want or need them, such as for those who are close to lead water line replacement work that could result in short-term spikes of lead into the water, the state said.
The state said Flint’s water has tested below federal "action levels" for lead for nearly two years, and for four consecutive six-month monitoring periods.
"This is not what I want for our city and I stand by my position that free bottled water should be provided to the people of Flint until the last-known lead-tainted pipe has been replaced," Weaver said in the letter.
Mays was a party to a federal court settlement that provided for an end to bottled water distribution once test results consistently showed lower lead levels, but Mays said the state should be listening to residents’ ongoing concerns about lead, plus other forms of contamination, such as bacterial.
Nonprofit groups have also been distributing free bottled water at Flint churches, and Mays said she expects and hopes that will continue.
Flint switched back to Detroit water in October 2015, but some risk remained because of damage to the city’s water distribution infrastructure.