FLINT, MI — Bottled water has officially ended for Flint residents.
"Given the current demand for bottled water over the last several days, the supply has been exhausted," reads an April 10 MDEQ statement.
"The four (PODs) are now permanently closed and will not reopen.
Officials announced Friday, April 6, it was ending the free water program after testing showed Flint’s water quality was below federal action levels for lead for nearly two years.
The news sent residents rushing to the sites to stock up on water before the state-funded supply ran out, with officials estimating the current supply would last for a week at most.
Flint’s supply of bottled water has been an issue since Gov.
The water crisis unfolded while the city was run by a series of emergency managers, appointed by Snyder, putting pressure on the state to clean-up the water system and provide safe drinking water in the interim.
In a news conference Monday, Weaver called the state’s bottled water decision "really sad" and "insensitive to the people," and said she had requested a meeting to discuss the issue further with Snyder.
It was Snyder who recognized a water emergency in Flint in January 2016, after emergency managers he appointed made a series of decisions to change the city’s water source to the Flint River in April 2014.
Snyder’s April 6 letter to Weaver says that state taxpayers have provided more than $350 million for water quality improvements, pipe replacements, health care, nutritional food distribution, educational resources and job training since he recognized the water emergency.