On April 6^th, 2018, Governor Rick Snyder and the State of Michigan ended a program supplying free bottled water to the residents of the city of Flint. This happened almost three weeks after the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality warned the city still had significant deficiencies with its water system oversight and operations. In a March 21 letter from Surface Water Treatment Engineer Robert London to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver the state detailed ten unresolved issues and incomplete recommendations that were first identified in a 2017 sanitary survey of the city’s water system. In the letter the state environmental department made clear it does not have confidence that the city can continue to demonstrate the technical, managerial and financial capacity necessary to consistently operate the water system in accordance with the Michigan Safe Water Drinking.

Governor Snyder in his April 6 announcement concerning the ending of the free bottled water program cited twenty-one months of state testing that has shown that the once-elevated lead water levels have now fallen below the required federal standards. This decision was question be a number of individuals including the Michigan Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, who has argued the state should continue bottled water service until ongoing lead pipe replacement is complete. Senator Ananich urged the Governor to, “Stop telling people two different things.” The Senator also pointed out the fact that the Snyder administration has struggled to rebuild trust in Flint, where residents were told tainted water was safe to drink after the city temporarily switched to Flint River water in April 2014. He also stated, “It may be meeting some federal standard that the governor has called dumb and dangerous, but if there are serious problems that could happen now or in the future, then the system needs to be fixed.”

Governor Snyder’s spokeswoman Anna Heaton released a statement that said the Flint water system is “producing very high quality drinking water and distributing it around the city, and that is backed up by both state and independent testing results.” The city of Flint switched back to Detroit water in late 2015 and the decision has been made to remain with that water source rather than join the new Karegnondi Water Authority. Before the city made the switch from the Detroit system to the Flint River the long-range plan had been to ultimately connect to the new pipeline from the Karegnodi Water Authority was working on. The City’s Lead levels have tested below 4 parts per billion this year in Flint, according to state testing.  The current federal action level is 15 parts per billion and the Snyder administration has proposed a maximum level 10 parts per billion. Ms. Heaton also stated that the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is working with the city to ensure the city’s ongoing operations can maintain the consistency of the locally-operated system.

The March twenty first DEQ letter pointed out that the city has not developed an emergency response plan or provided details about maintenance or operating procedures for water hydrants, valves, meters and service lines. Flint has also has not completed an inspection of a Cedar Street water reservoir. The City has not filled a vacant cross connection manager position and continues to struggle with other water system staffing issues. It is proving difficult to fill positions within the City’s water department.

Several Flint leaders have criticized the Snyder administration’s decision to end bottled water service and threatened a possible lawsuit against the state. The battle to win back the public trust in the Flint area remains elusive and may take years to restore.