The water in Flint, Michigan is still toxic.
Last night, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver held a press conference, along with several doctors from federal organizations, to announce that new tests done in the past 24 hours show lead levels above 150 parts per billion in a few results.
That’s a problem for many reasons, but the biggest concern is that the water filters being handed out to residents only filter up to 150 parts per billion. Some tests showed levels as high as 4000 parts per billion. (This is due to Flint’s corrosive water destroying the pipelines over the past two years.)
Weaver urged residents to pick up free water test kits and make sure the water in their neighborhood isn’t one of the spots where the lead outpaces a filter’s capacity for ridding of the lead.
Governor Snyder, or Johnny-come-lately, whichever you wanna call him, also released a statement:
It is essential that all Flint residents have the water in their homes tested as soon as possible. Please make it a priority for your family and encourage your friends and neighbors to obtain testing kits as well. The kits are available free of charge at the water resource sites within Flint fire stations.
For a refresher, as late as September of last year Snyder refuted the testing that said kids in Flint had six times the normal amount of lead in their system. This helpful “Maybe don’t drink the water anymore” warning from Snyder comes the same day the Detroit Free Press reveals that state office workers in Flint have been getting bottled water in their building since June.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats asked for $400 million in emergency funds (half what Snyder asked for) to replace the pipelines. Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters said the state should match that price, saying “The state broke it. They need to fix it.”
h/t WXYZ