FLINT, MI — The state is getting an expensive daily reminder of the cost of the Flint water crisis more than two years after acknowledging it — a bill that amounts to more than $22,000 every 24 hours.
Records from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality detail the latest spending, one of the state supports to the city that’s expected to be reviewed starting this month following a third round of water testing in buildings operated by Flint Community Schools.
Although the state ended its own water distribution program in Flint in September, it’s continued to pay the cost of water that the city is now in charge of delivering through the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.
"I have been, and still am, a proponent of bottled water being provided to residents until all lead-tainted service lines leading to homes in Flint have been replaced," Weaver said in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal.
So far this year, bottled water costs have inched up at an even quicker pace — an average of $668,719 monthly.
Local, state and federal officials are also conferring weekly on water quality issues other than lead, monitoring pH, phosphate and chlorine levels from samples taken at dozens of monitoring sites around the city.
"We are glad the water quality in Flint is improving," Weaver said in a statement issued by the city.
Gaskin said he believes part of the reason for continued bottled water demand is that some residents are hoarding water in anticipation of an end to the state supply.
MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Mayor Karen Weaver for comment on issues related to state funding for bottled water but she said earlier this month that the state should continue to supply bottled water to the city until all lead and galvanized service lines have been replaced — something that might not be accomplished until 2019.
The bottled water being purchased this year comes through a $16.7-million contract between the state and Absopure Water Company.

Naphthalene was found in samples taken from faucets on the 11th and 35th floor of the tower.
The state Office of General Services said the levels were 1.4 parts per billion and 0.75 ppb, respectively, insisting the amount was "significantly below the Department of Health’s drinking water standard of 50 ppb and the EPA’s health advisory level of 100 ppb."
Employees in the 44-story tower should keep drinking bottled water supplied by OGS, the agency said.
Naphthalene is an organic compound most commonly found in mothballs.
"Friday, out of an abundance of caution, we asked that tenants in the Corning Tower refrain from drinking water from sinks and fountains," OGS wrote in an email to state employees.
"As employees start their work week we ask that you continue to refrain from drinking water.
Bottled water will once again be provided until further notice.
Additionally, tenants who used their own bottles of water last week should consider rinsing those bottles with the bottled water being provided.
Using the water for hand washing is OK. As stated Friday, Biggs Lab and other buildings are not affected."
Water samples were sent to the state Department of Health and tests were being done at the Wadsworth Center’s laboratory.

FLINT, MI — The number of water samples with elevated levels of lead in Flint elementary schools increased in February with more tests registering above the federal action limit than did one month earlier.
Although the second round of school tests showed a marked increase in lead hot spots, the testing conditions changed from January, and a DEQ official said those changes could account for 28 samples registering higher than 15 ppb compared to just 20 at the nine buildings in January.
Flint schools Superintent Bilal Tawwab issued a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal, saying the district "is eager to continue our work with the state, the mayor’s office, medical experts and Flint residents to analyze and continue water testing moving forward."
Even with the increase in samples with elevated lead, the February tests would meet federal guidelines for lead if treated the same as the samples collected by a municipal water system.
Testing that same year showed elevated lead in water at three Flint elementary schools.
After three rounds of testing, the DEQ has said it will consider those and other water testing results before making recommendations for the state’s role in Flint water going forward, including state-funded bottled water.
Collected in mid-February, the new results show: Only one school — Pierce Elementary — had every sample test below 15 ppb of lead.
Taken as a whole, the district’s 90th percentile for lead was 6 ppb, up from 4 ppb in January testing.
The sample with the highest level of lead — 279 ppb — was collected from Eisenhower Elementary.
Krisztian said testing that’s occurring in schools can’t be easily compared to testing that water systems perform every six months to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule, including the use of smaller sample bottles being used in school testing.

Jason Minto/The News Journal/USA TODAY Recent water woes in Delaware have included groundwater contamination in at least two Sussex County towns, which environmental regulators are now investigating.
The spate of water safety issues has prompted one group to hold a public forum about it Wednesday evening.
The League of Women Voters of Sussex County will present the forum, "Safe Drinking Water?
Last fall, Mountaire Farms’ Millsboro-area plant was cited for spraying highly contaminated effluent on hundreds of acres of surrounding farm fields.
That wastewater, which was largely untreated due to problems at the plant’s wastewater treatment facility, included high levels of nitrogen and fecal coliform.
Tests revealed private wells had high levels of nitrates, which can cause birth defects, miscarriages and other health impacts.
Since then, a carbon-filtration system has been installed on the town’s water supply.
"Public insistence on the need for long-term solutions is critical as County Council reviews the final draft of the 2018 Sussex County Comprehensive Plan before submitting it to the state for approval," the League stated in a release.
The group will host a panel of people in the environmental, medical and activist sectors.
The News Journal’s Maddy Lauria contributed to this report.

The bottled water industry scares us into the extravagant convenience of its job security.
Income.
We have 30-plus waterborne toxins and we’re fracking our ground water to produce oil and more carbon dioxide burning it.
We are fracking ourselves.
Shipping.
Shipping.
Shipping.
Consumers not exercising mindfulness.
Exporting out Valley’s water as a component of nourishing food people cannot grow for themselves is a beneficial appropriation of our water resources.
The normal shutdown pump again cycle that recharges the cone of inversion is misleading.

The water regulator for England and Wales is to investigate why thousands of homes suffered water shortages in the wake of the recent cold weather.
Homes and businesses faced days without running water after pipes burst during a thaw which followed freezing weather conditions.
Ofwat will look at how prepared water firms were and what support they subsequently offered customers.
It said at the time that companies had "fallen well short".
Some water companies handed out bottled water as some households were without a mains supply for three days.
Big thaw leaves thousands without water Mexican restaurant ‘unlikely hero’ in water shortage Londoners told to limit water use No water: Can you claim compensation?
More than 20,000 homes were affected in London, where schools were forced to close and people were advised to take shorter showers as Thames Water repaired burst pipes.
Both suppliers and customers affected will contribute to the review.
"To be left without a vital public service like water – in some cases for several days – is deeply distressing, particularly for those in vulnerable circumstances, " Ms Fletcher said.
The review is due to publish its findings by June 15.

While specialized barrels to store large amounts of water and tools to maintain water purity are available for purchase, it is not the only method in which you can store water.
Water can be stored in screw-top plastic bottles, such as a two-liter soda bottle, which are less likely to break or leak.
Bottled water may also be purchased and used for storage.
Before using water from these sources, it will be necessary to sanitize this water.
Portable water filters can also be used.
Sanitizing water by using bleach For each gallon of filtered water, add eight drops of unscented chlorine bleach and allow it to stand for 30 minutes.
Remember, boiling water and using bleach will kill most viruses and bacteria but it will not remove metals, salts or chemicals, so the water may still have a funny taste.
Hidden sources of water in your home Turning off the main water valve does two things: It prevents contaminated water from entering the lines in a home, and it keeps gravity from draining water out of the home’s lines if there is a break in an outside pipe.
Attach a short hose to the valve at the bottom of the tank to assist with draining.
Learn how at: www.mil.wa.gov/uploads/pdf/Publications/secure%20water%20heatreer.pdf Water standing in the pipes of a house is also available for use.

DENVER – Sales are skyrocketing for the bottled water industry, but what are companies actually selling to customers?
In its new report “Take Back the Tap,” Food and Water Watch researchers look at the booming business of bottled water, which surpassed soda in sales in 2016.
The group finds nearly 64 percent of bottled water comes from municipal taps and that it cost almost 2,000 times as much as tap water and four times as much as gasoline.
“It is much more the norm in other countries where you have to go buy bottled water because the safety systems aren’t there for tap water,” says Lovera.
“That’s not the case in most American cities.
That’s enough to fill the Empire State Building 1.3 times.
Lovera says even though most tap water systems are safe, the country’s water infrastructure is in need of maintenance, especially in places such as Flint, Michigan, and that federal funding is the best avenue for that.
But she adds that it can be difficult to get support for this idea.
“It’s hard to build that political will if people think that you buy water at the grocery store and you just have to go take care of it that way,” she says.
“We kind of undermine this sense of ownership and accountability for having a tap water system that works for everybody.” The bottled water industry has spent millions lobbying the U.S. Congress and federal regulators.

Albany State workers in the Empire Plaza’s Corning Tower were told not to drink the water on Friday.
The state Office of General Services brought bottled water to the building after sending out the following notice: “A cloudiness and odor has been detected in the water at the Corning Tower.
Biggs Lab is not affected.” “No other buildings are affected.
Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that tenants in the Corning Tower refrain from drinking water from sinks and fountains as we determine the cause of this issue.
Bottled water is on the way to the Tower and will be delivered to all floors.
You can also fill your own bottles on the concourse.
We will keep you apprised of information as it becomes available.
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.” One person, who cited another letter that went out to state workers in the tower, noted that sandblasting the fire suppression system on the 41st floor may have resulted in particles getting into the water system.
OGS spokeswoman Heather Groll, though, said the cause has not been pinned down.
rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU

Don’t drink the water in Corning Tower, at least today.
OGS is bringing bottled water to the Corning Tower after sending out the following notice: A cloudiness and odor has been detected in the water at the Corning Tower.
Biggs Lab is not affected.
No other buildings are affected.
Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that tenants in the Corning Tower refrain from drinking water from sinks and fountains as we determine the cause of this issue.
Bottled water is on the way to the Tower and will be delivered to all floors.
You can also fill your own bottles on the concourse.
We will keep you apprised of information as it becomes available.
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
OGS spokeswoman Heather Groll, though, said they haven’t pinned down the cause.