August 14 was the date set for the end of Flint’s state of emergency. That means that the federal government will no longer pay for bottled water, water filters and cartridges and home testing kits to be distributed at no cost to residents. The State of Michigan will now pay for these items, estimated to cost about $3.5 million per month.
“If the federal declaration wasn’t in place, the state of Michigan would have paid more than $117,400 per day in May for water resources provided to Flint residents,” says Ron Leix of the state’s Joint Information Center in Flint.
“It’s hard to say what future costs may be – it all depends on the demand for bottled water and if residents use the filters. With the warmer weather, there may be a larger demand for water supplies. Colder weather may lessen the demand. It’s variable,” Leix says.
The continued access to free bottled water is a big deal, because even though experts say it’s now safe to drink filtered water, many Flint residents still don’t trust that.
Really? Ya don’t say!
With so much else going on in the world you may need a quick refresher course on the Flint crisis:
The problem began when the city switched its water supply in 2014. Almost immediately, residents of Flint — a majority-black city where 40 percent of people live in poverty — started complaining about the quality of the water. City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem.
By that time, supply pipes had sustained major corrosion and lead was leaching into the water. The city switched back to its original water supply late last year, but it was too late to reverse the damage to the pipes.
Even though officials in Flint knew something was wrong months before they actually came out and said it. Shame, shame, shame on Gov. Rick Snyder and the State of Michigan. Shame.