FLINT, MI — Mayor Karen Weaver isn’t interested in ending state-funded bottled water distribution in the city until testing in public schools shows lead is no longer a problem there.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality struck an agreement with Flint School District last month to begin testing and flushing of water in the district’s 13 buildings.
"We still want that extra layer of protection … Tap-drinkable — that’s the goal," Weaver said.
"Until we get through (school testing) we don’t want any of this to go away.
"I think we’ve made that message loud and clear.
I certainly hope so," she said.
State officials have said Flint’s decreasing level of lead in the water last year means it could reconsider continuing to pay for bottled water that’s being distributed here at any time.
The DEQ’s announcement does not include any information about the future of state funding for bottled water distribution in the city — an initiative that state officials have said would likely be reviewed this month of the LCR testing continued to trend well below 15 ppb of lead.
The agreement that allows for the water testing in Flint schools came after the state said school officials wouldn’t allow it to flush lines or test water inside any of its 13 buildings.
The schools currently use only bottled water, supplied by private donors.