Michigan governor signs $28M bill to address water crisis

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday signed 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, bringing the total allocated to nearly $39 million. The Republican governor said the funding will provide immediate resources in Flint, but is not the end of state assistance.

Improperly treated water leached lead from pipes into drinking water after Flint switched from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. The switch was supposed to be an interim move until the completion of a new pipeline from Lake Huron.

Flint has reconnected to Detroit’s system for now.

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

On Thursday, U.S. Senate Democrats proposed up to $400 million in emergency federal aid for Flint — spending contingent on the state matching the funds dollar for dollar.

An assessment cited in the state’s request for a federal disaster declaration estimated the potential cost of fixing the damage to Flint’s water distribution infrastructure at $713 million. Snyder and the Republicans who control the state Legislature have said it’s too early to talk about wholesale replacement of the pipes.

Also Friday, Snyder said he was not aware that the state had been offering bottled water for employees at a state office building in Flint last year while telling other residents that the city’s tap water was safe to drink.

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

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