Michigan

Flint water crisis: Water coolers at state office building were for residents too, Rick Snyder says

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on Flint’s water crisis and efforts to fix the problem of lead in the drinking water (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

A Michigan legislative leader from Flint says Gov. Rick Snyder’s suggestion that the public also could drink from water coolers supplied to workers in a state office building is “insulting.”

Fresh bottled water was placed in a state building in Flint beginning a year ago, as concerns about the city’s water quality were rising but before lead was discovered. Snyder spokesman Dave Murray says one water cooler was placed on each floor and next to public drinking fountains.

Angela Wittrock, a spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, says it’s “lunacy” to suggest water delivered to state employees “was also meant for the 100,000 people of Flint who, by the way, were consistently being told their water was fine.”

The agency that manages state buildings says coolers were introduced at the building after Flint flunked some drinking water standards.

3:40 p.m.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are asking Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder for documents related to the crisis over lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan.

Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Brenda Lawrence of Michigan have complained that the committee’s Republican chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, rejected their request for Snyder to testify at an Oversight hearing next week. Cummings is the panel’s senior Democrat, and Lawrence is the senior Democrat on an Interior subcommittee. The two lawmakers say officials must hear from everyone involved to understand how the crisis in Flint occurred and how a similar problem can be prevented.

Lawrence said, “the American people deserve a full accounting of this man-made disaster.”

No witness list has been released for the hearing, set for Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

2:35 p.m.

A spokesman for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says fresh bottled water placed in a state building in Flint beginning in January 2015 was for both employees and residents as concerns were rising about the city’s water system, but before lead was discovered in it.

Spokesman Dave Murray said Friday that a water cooler was placed on each floor next to public drinking fountains in the building that includes the Department of Health and Human Services.

Murray said he didn’t know if workers promoted that it was available, but no signs prohibited the public from drinking water from the cooler.

He also says the water was provided until early summer, and then again in October after a public health emergency was declared. Another state spokesman had earlier said it was provided continuously.

The agency that manages state buildings said Thursday coolers were introduced at the building after Flint flunked some drinking water standards unrelated to lead.

Snyder told WWJ-AM he had “no knowledge of that taking place.”

12:50 p.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into law $28 million in emergency funding to address Flint’s lead-contaminated water crisis.

It’s the second round of state aid since the fall, when improperly treated water was found to have leached lead from pipes into the city’s supply.

The Republican governor signed the measure Friday at a Michigan Press Association meeting in Grand Rapids. He says the funding will provide immediate resources in Flint but is not the end of state assistance.

The money is intended to pay for bottled water, faucet filters, testing kits, additional school nurses, medical treatment and to help the city with unpaid water bills.

There is also funding to hire outside experts to assess whether Flint’s water system infrastructure must be replaced or repaired.

10:20 a.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he’s still focused on resolving Flint’s crisis with lead-tainted drinking water, despite hecklers and other vocal critics.

Snyder told radio station WWJ-AM that he was heckled Thursday night while dining at a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor.

He says “other things like that have been going on for some time now” and that the criticism makes him “feel terrible,” but that he remains focused on resolving the city’s problems.

Ann Arbor resident Laura Tanner told The Ann Arbor News that she and a friend gave Snyder an earful at the Old Town Tavern. She says she yelled “How was your water? Was it clean?” at the Republican governor

Protesters have been rallying outside Snyder’s residence, saying he didn’t act swiftly enough to help Flint residents.

9:50 a.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he wasn’t aware that the state offered fresh bottled water for state employees in Flint starting in January 2015, although residents were told that tap water was safe to drink until last fall.

Snyder told WWJ-AM in an interview Friday morning that he had “no knowledge of that taking place.” He says his understanding is that the use of bottled water at the state building in Flint was because of warnings by the Flint officials that were issued at the time.

Flint residents are now warned to drink only filtered or bottled water because of lead contamination.

The agency that manages state buildings said Thursday water coolers were introduced at the building after Flint flunked some drinking water standards that weren’t related to lead.

9:30 a.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will soon sign into law $28 million in emergency funding to address Flint’s lead-contaminated water.

It’s the second round of state aid for the city since the crisis was confirmed in the fall.

The Republican governor is expected to sign the measure Friday at a Michigan Press Association meeting in Grand Rapids. He says the funding will provide immediate resources in Flint but is not the end of state assistance.

The money will pay for bottled water, faucet filters, testing kits, additional school nurses, medical treatment and to help the city with unpaid water bills.

There is also funding to hire outside experts to assess whether Flint’s water system infrastructure must be replaced or repaired.

Improperly treated water leached lead from pipes into drinking water.

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