Flint: State government gave employees bottled water in Jan

[mme_hardy]

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/01/28/3743987/flint-water-state-employees/

But concerns raised over water quality were enough for officials in the state’s capitol of Lansing to decide to give state employees the option to drink bottled water from coolers, rather than from water fountains. Coolers were placed next to the fountains on each occupied floor, according to the documents, and were to be provided “as long as the public water does not meet treatment requirements.”

Memo dated Jan 7, 2015 (screencap in article)
The city of Flint recently sent out the attached notice regarding violations to the drinking water standards. While the city of Flint states that corrective actions are not necessary, DMTB [Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget] is in the process of providing a water cooler on each occupied floor, positioned near the water fountain, so you can choose which water to drink. The coolers will arrive today and will be provided as long as the public water does not meet treatment requirements.

For those who are counting, that's eight months before the State agreed that Flint had a water problem.

Comments

[vom_marlowe]

I'm not surprised. That reads to me like an administrator with the power to help state employees knew and acted. A large group of people at State had to know, because there were complaints flying about very early on. That group can be divided into those who knew and did nothing because poor black people who gives a shit, and those who knew and did what they could (gave out water to whoever they had power to give water to, lobbied above, sent the odd dangerous email, complained to the feds). I hope the governor is thrown in jail for depraved indifference, myself.

[mme_hardy]

I only wish. Michigan is a recall state, but you have to get signatures over "25 percent of the number of people who voted in the last preceding election for the office of governor of Michigan "

[vom_marlowe]

Unless governors have diplomatic immunity, I don't think his title will matter. I expect that public pressure will force the Feds to act. All they really need is one email proving he knew the leaded water threat was real, and put the kibosh on fixing it anyway.

[neotoma]

I believe this is what you might call 'a fish in the milk'. Very suspicious, very hard to explain away with an innocent reasons.

I hope someone (or multiple someones) get nailed to the proverbial wall about the Flint Water crisis, because it was entirely avoidable and completely horrific.

[sara]

Sigh. For context, if you want bottled water in our state employee building, you pay for it yourself.