Tag: water crisis
Michigan Governor Won’t Know Flint Costs Before Next Budget Is Due

Michigan Governor Won’t Know Flint Costs Before Next Budget Is Due

By Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press (TNS)

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan won’t know how much it needs to spend to repair and replace water infrastructure in Flint in 2016-17 before Republican Gov. Rick Snyder presents the 2017 fiscal year budget on Feb. 10, according to a spokesman for state Budget Director John Roberts.

“We don’t have an exact date yet as to when the infrastructure study will be completed,” said Kurt Weiss.

It won’t be in time for Snyder’s budget presentation, but “the governor will be making more announcements about investments for Flint when he releases the budget,” Weiss said Monday.

Preliminary estimates of the cost of repairing Flint’s water distribution infrastructure — damaged by corrosive Flint River water that was not treated with corrosion control chemicals from April 2014 through October 2015 — range from millions of dollars to as high as $1.5 billion.

DEQ officials could not immediately say Tuesday whether the state has hired an expert to assess the condition of the Flint water infrastructure, how much it will cost to repair it, or when that information is expected to be available.

The Legislature has already approved $9.35 million for Flint for the current 2016 fiscal year and a further 2016 appropriation of $28 million has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate this week.

The $28 million supplemental appropriation bill for 2015-16 is expected to be revised Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations Committee before moving on to the full Senate. Senators have said that because of the massive surge of donations of bottled water to Flint, some of the money could be targeted away from water toward other needs.

Currently, the bill allocates $500,000 to study Flint’s water infrastructure and $2 million for water system needs, which could include new infrastructure.

Officials say Flint has about 500 miles of old iron pipe and thousands of lead service lines, none of which have been replaced since the state acknowledged a public health crisis around Oct. 1.

It wasn’t clear Tuesday if the amendments the Senate is planning would direct more money toward infrastructure needs.

Snyder’s Flint Water Advisory Task Force said in a letter to Snyder on Friday that the state needs to accelerate its efforts in “re-establishing a reliable, trusted potable water system in Flint.”

Flint drinking water became contaminated with lead after the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, temporarily switched its source from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to water from the Flint River, treated at the Flint water treatment plant.

DEQ Director Dan Wyant resigned in December after acknowledging the DEQ failed to require the addition of needed corrosion control chemicals to the corrosive Flint River water. As a result, lead leached from pipes, joints and fixtures, contaminating the drinking water for an unknown number of Flint households. Lead causes permanent brain damage in children, as well as other health problems.

For months, state officials downplayed reports of lead in the water and a spike in lead levels in the blood of Flint children, before acknowledging a problem on Oct. 1.

Also Tuesday, less than a week after issuing an emergency order that it would take over water sampling in Flint, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an update saying it expects to begin several rounds of sampling to confirm that filters distributed to residents are effective in removing lead and to better understand the types of service lines prevalent in the city. The EPA also said it would take samples to “ensure corrosion control is being restored in the drinking water system.” Last week, the agency complained that the city and state DEQ weren’t enacting recommendations for improving city water quickly enough.

(Detroit Free Press staff writer Todd Spangler contributed to this report.)

©2016 Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: The Flint River is seen flowing thru downtown in Flint, Michigan, in this file photo from December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/Files

 

Snyder E-Mails: Aides Figured Flint Was Others’ Problem

Snyder E-Mails: Aides Figured Flint Was Others’ Problem

By John Wisely, Paul Egan and Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press (TNS)

DETROIT—Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s staffers worried in September that the issue of lead in Flint’s drinking water was being politicized and that the state’s responsibility for the crisis was being exaggerated.

“I can’t figure out why the state is responsible except that (then-treasurer Andy) Dillon did make the ultimate decision so we’re not able to avoid the subject,” Snyder’s chief of staff Dennis Muchmore wrote to Snyder in a Sept. 25, 2015, e-mail.

He followed it up the next morning, writing: “The real responsibility rests with the county, city and KWA,” referring to the Karegnondi Water Authority. “But since the issue here is the health of citizens and their children, we’re taking a proactive approach.”

Muchmore’s e-mail came after a Hurley Medical Center pediatrician reported finding elevated blood lead levels in Flint children.

Muchmore’s e-mails were included in 274 pages of Snyder’s e-mails released Wednesday in the wake of the water crisis that has led protesters to call for the governor to resign. House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, a Democrat, said he was very disappointed with redactions in the e-mails and the fact Snyder only released what he said were his own e-mails, instead of all Flint-related e-mails to and from officials in the executive office.

The first e-mail in the file released by Snyder is from Michael Gadola, then Snyder’s legal counsel, and includes 21/2 pages of blacked-out text. Most of the other redactions are of e-mail addresses.

“It’s very disappointing to see the governor play these types of games,” Greimel said.

Muchmore, who retired Tuesday as Snyder’s chief of staff, told The Detroit Free Press that when he wrote that Dillon made the ultimate decision, he meant that the Flint emergency manager reported to Dillon and Dillon “signed off on it.”

Muchmore said he was referencing Flint’s decision to join the Karegnondi Water Authority, a new pipeline now under construction to Lake Huron. That decision was supported by the locals and the Flint City Council, which endorsed it with a 7-1 vote.

After the vote, Detroit notified Flint that it was terminating water service to Flint in 12 months, which prompted a scramble for an alternative source. A year later, Flint began drawing and treating water from the Flint River for distribution to the city. The river water immediately drew complaints of discoloration, odor and rust.

Dillon said in an e-mail to the Free Press he was initially reluctant to sign off on Flint moving to the KWA because he didn’t think the change would save the cash-strapped city money. He said he changed his mind after he was told in a briefing with the Department of Environmental Quality that the new pipeline would be a cost-saver, and after determining that the Detroit water system was not prepared to give Flint a better deal.

“However, this was a different decision than the decision to use the Flint River,” Dillon said. “I don’t recall that decision coming to me.”

Muchmore said Wednesday that the Flint River had always been the backup water source and while there was some disagreement about the issue, no one really talked about the significance of using the river water until after it happened and complaints started pouring in.

“Everybody thought professionals will treat this water and they will make it good,” Muchmore said Wednesday. “Andy ultimately signed off on the KWA because he felt it was acceptable financially, No.1 , and the DEQ had signed off on the technical part of it, and more importantly, the local people wanted to do it.”

The e-mails were released after Snyder made a pledge in his State of the State address Tuesday. Normally, the e-mails would not be disclosed publicly, but Snyder agreed to release them after pressure from the Detroit Free Press and others to make his communications public in the wake of the public health emergency.

In the e-mails, Muchmore wrote that U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., was “engaged in his normal press hound routine” after the congressman issued a press release noting he’d asked the EPA to help the state deal with the crisis. Muchmore added that then-Mayor Dayne Walling “went out on a CYA effort due to the election.”

They also show doubts about returning Flint to the Detroit system and even questioning if the reports of higher lead levels are accurate.

“They can’t reconnect to DWSD even if they wanted to as they sold the connector line,” Muchmore wrote Sept. 26. “And, especially with the new rate increases in Detroit, their citizens would be less able to pay than they already are. Now we have the anti everything group turning to the lead content which is a concern for everyone, but DEQ and DHHS and EPA can’t find evidence of a major change per Geralyn’s memo below.”

Muchmore was referring to a memo from Geralyn Lasher at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that said blood lead level data examined by Hurley Medical Center Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha didn’t match the state’s data.

“Hurley used two partial years of data, MDHHS looked at five comprehensive years and saw no increase outside the normal seasonal increases,” Lasher wrote. “The Hurley review was also a much smaller sample than MDHHS data as ours includes all hospital systems in Flint as well as outside laboratories. We have also provided the attached data chart that outlines if the elevated blood lead levels were being driven by a change in water, we would have seen the elevated levels remain high after the change in water source.”

Three days later, Snyder received a daily briefing from staffers laying out the concerns in Flint. The first bullet point in the briefing noted that the most common cause of lead poisoning is from lead paint.

“Blood lead level testing results for the 12-month period just after the City of Flint changed its water source (May 2014- April 2015) showed no significant change in the pattern of blood lead levels in Flint, compared to the previous three years,” Snyder was informed in the briefing. “This data suggests the recent change in water source by the City of Flint has not contributed to an increase in lead exposure throughout the community.”

The briefing went on to estimate that it would cost “$60 million or more” to replace the more than 15,000 lead pipes that connect water mains to homes.

Very little of the text in the body of the e-mails was written by Snyder himself. The bulk of the messages are staffers writing to Snyder.

On Sept. 2, Snyder received an e-mail from Harvey Hollins, his director of the office of urban affairs, informing him that 1,500 donated water filters were distributed in Flint within four hours and at least 200 more people wanted them. The name of the donor who provided the filters is redacted from the e-mails though Hollins acknowledged that they “do not want any publicity or credit for their donation the donation.”

Snyder responded three days later: “Factually accurate update, but how did it go over with the residents?”

“It went over extremely well with the residents,” Hollins replied. “There is a demand for more.”

A week after Muchmore’s e-mail saying Flint couldn’t reconnect to Detroit’s system, the city was exploring a way to do just that.

Snyder did weigh in on the financial aspects of reconnection.

“We should help get all the facts on the consequences of changing back vs. staying and then determine what financing mechanisms we have available,” Snyder wrote in an Oct. 2 message to Muchmore, adding the administration needed “a clear side-by-side comparison of the health benefits and costs of (the Great Lakes Water Authority) vs. a more optimized Flint system. Also, we need to look at what financing mechanisms are available to Flint to pay for any higher cost actions. Please get people working on these two issues ASAP.”

On Oct. 6, Snyder wrote: “We need a better update system re: Flint water,” noting that he learned from the media that the Department of Health and Human Services announced the distribution of water filters.

“This should have come internally with more detail. I had press questions last night,” Snyder wrote. “Overall, we should have a daily report on Flint until our recommendations are fully implemented.”

Snyder then cited information he wanted including water test results, blood test results, the number of filters distributed and the analysis of proceeding with water from the Great Lakes Water Authority, the Flint River or the new authority.

(Staff writers Keith Matheny, Kristi Tanner and Rochelle Riley contributed to this report.)

©2016 Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Ariana Hawk, 25, is the single mother of three children under the age of ten living in Flint, Mich., with her mother. She bathes her middle child Sincere Smith, 2, who is unable to bathe with tap water. He is suffering from a breakouts all over his body that his mother believes are a reaction to the contaminated water. She must use bottled water to wash him daily. (Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press/TNS)

‘Nobody Should Have To Be Living Like This,’ Residents Of Flint Say

‘Nobody Should Have To Be Living Like This,’ Residents Of Flint Say

By Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press (TNS)

FLINT, Mich. — Ariana Hawk heated a bowl of distilled water in the microwave, dipped a washcloth in it and wiped her 2-year-old son’s itchy, irritated skin.

She said she has been cleaning Sincere Smith’s body this way — or with wet wipes — since last summer, because the boy’s doctor doesn’t want him bathing in the tap water at their Flint home.

“I can’t afford to go buy 20 gallons of water just to bathe him one time,” said Hawk, a 25-year-old single mother of three who attends Mott Community College and is pregnant.

Sincere has rough patches of skin on his legs, arms and face, she explained, adding that his skin condition started with a rash on his stomach after Flint switched it water supply source from Lake Huron to the more polluted and corrosive Flint River in April 2014 while under control of a state-appointed emergency manager.

Hawk blames the water for her middle child’s suffering and plans to sue.

“We get treated like … we don’t matter,” she said. “That’s how it’s been feeling.”

Residents across Flint — some of whom stopped using the water immediately after the cost-saving change because of its smell, color, taste and source and others who continued to drink and cook with it — echo her frustration.

People, pets, even plants have been affected by the poisonous, lead-contaminated water, they said.

Community members feel betrayed, worried, angry, sad and stressed and are bracing for what will happen next in Flint, a city with 99,000 residents, 40 percent of whom live in poverty.

The city has seen a spike in the levels of lead in children’s blood. Lead poisoning, experts say, affects IQs and has lifelong impacts, including learning disabilities, speech and language problems, and an increased risk for behavioral issues.

“This is a population-wide exposure,” said Hurley Children’s Hospital pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.

Kids absorb lead more easily and have been exposed to lead if they drank Flint water since April 2014, health officials said.

“I love my kids,” said Pamela Battle. “I want them to grow up like I grew up … wasn’t no worries about no water.”

Battle, whose seven children range in age from 1 to 16, said she got a water filter Monday. Before that, she was using water from her faucet to cook, make Kool-Aid and put it in bottles for her two youngest children.

“We were drinking it regularly,” said Battle, 36. “The whole family. Everyone here.”

The water in her previous home was discolored and tasted terrible, she said, but when she moved to her house on Chambers in December 2014, the water came out of the faucet clear and tasted fine. She said she didn’t realize there was an issue.

At the urging of her mother, Battle went to Freeman Elementary School last Tuesday with some of her kids to get their blood checked for lead. The school hosted an event where she learned about lead poisoning and its effects on children.

“I’m really concerned now,” she said.

Battle said she has no choice but to stay in Flint with her children and live with the water crisis. Others have had enough and plan to leave.

Kerry Wheeler, 45, said she, her 11-year-old daughter and their dog are moving to Taylor to escape the water situation.

Shortly after she moved into her Flint apartment on Alvord Avenue last fall, her active dog became lethargic, wouldn’t eat and started vomiting. Wheeler took the 10-year-old boxer named Beast to the veterinarian and was told to give him bottled water.

“Once I switched him to bottled water, he perked right back up after a couple days,” she said.

Water in her home has varied from clear or cloudy to brown or yellow. At times, it has been so discolored, she refused to let her daughter bathe in it, opting for wipes instead, she said.

“Nobody should have to be living like this,” Wheeler said.

Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency Jan. 5 and acknowledged that actions taken by the state have not been good enough at a Jan. 11 news conference, saying “more work needs to be done with more urgency.”

State efforts were ramped up this week to get free bottled water, filters, replacement cartridges and water testing kits in the hands of Flint residents. Members of the Michigan National Guard have been deployed to Flint, and Snyder requested federal help for the water crisis.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama declared a federal emergency in Flint and ordered federal aid to help.

Throughout last week, people lined up to pick up free water and filters at fire stations, and more free supplies have been passed out door-to-door by Michigan State Police troopers, volunteers and others.

“It’s that kind of door-to-door contact that’s important right now, so people know that we’re committed to their health and their safety,” Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said Friday.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said Thursday night that the city has made progress but needs more people to help with the efforts.

“We’re starting to get what we need … but these are Band-Aids, and we need the Band-Aids because as long as we can’t drink the water, we have to have bottled water. We have to have filters,” Weaver said.

The state helped the city move its source of water back to Lake Huron water supplied by Detroit in October, but concerns about contamination remain because the Flint River water damaged pipes and other infrastructure. Dan Wyant, the former head of the state Department of Environmental Quality resigned last month. The agency failed to require the addition of anticorrosive chemicals to the water.

Snyder has repeatedly apologized for the state’s role in the water crisis, but many say he still hasn’t done enough.

“That apology ain’t going to help these kids,” said Hawk, who said she doesn’t know what her children may face because of their exposure to lead. “That apology’s not going to help the families that’s suffering.”

Weaver said the ultimate solution is to fix the infrastructure and provide long-term help for all of the people impacted in the city where public trust has been shattered.

“We didn’t deserve to be in this position, in this situation,” she said. “And what happened here in Flint should never happen to any community.”

©2016 Detroit Free Press. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Sincere Smith, 2, of Flint, Mich., is one of three children living with his single mom Ariana Hawk, 25. He is suffering from a severe skin rash that his mother believes is due to bathing in the contaminated Flint water. (Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press/TNS)