In Flint, Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer says she is ready to bring back bottled water to the people of Flint.
According to WWMT, Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration made the call to stop giving out water back in April. Whitmer said to Michigan Advance that she will have her administration distribute bottled water until all lead pipes are replaced.
“There is currently a commitment by Nestle to provide citizens with free bottled water through April and the Governor-elect will continue to work with Mayor Weaver to ensure citizens have access to clean, safe water to drink moving forward,” said Clare Liening, press secretary of the Michigan Transition Office, to WWMT.
The state ended bottled water distribution to Flint resident in April under Mayor Snyder, after water testing showed a continued period of lower lead levels in the city’s drinking water. According to WXYZ, Snyder closed down the remaining free bottled water stations saying the “need” had ended because the water system proved to be stable.
According to WWMT, Flint’s government and many residents were against ending the bottled water support for residents. Weaver told state officials that “bottled water should be provided the the people of Flint until the last known lead-tainted pipe has been replaced,” according to WXYZ.
In an interview with Michigan Advance, Whitmer assures she will make sure Flint will have bottled water until the pipes are finished being replaced.
"Well, the bottled water has to continue until the pipes are replaced. Dr. Mona [Hanna-Attisha] is someone that has been such a leader and has the confidence and trust of the people of Flint, so I’m going to work with her to make sure that the wraparound services for children are easy to navigate and are there in the robust way that they need to be. So I think that there are gonna be a lot of opportunities here. But when you look at incentives for investment, we really should be trying to make sure that our inner cities, especially ones that were so devastated by state oversight, are prioritized," Whitmer said in the interview.