FLINT, MI -- Public health officials identified the Flint River as a potential source of a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires' disease some 15 months ago, but people using the water were never told until this week, documents obtained by The Flint Journal-MLive show.

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by The Journal show an investigation aimed at making a connection -- or ruling out a tie -- between Flint River water and Legionnaires' bogged down as key agencies in the probe clashed and the information never reached the public.

Gov. Rick Snyder and state Health and Human Services Department officials said Wednesday, Jan. 13, that the Flint area experienced a spike in Legionnaires beginning in summer 2014 that resulted in 10 deaths in 18 months.

Officials said there's no evidence of a clear link between the outbreak and the decision to use the river as the city's water source in April 2014, but documents show public officials in the city, Genesee County and the state were aware of the potential connection more than a year before disclosing it.

During that time, a debate about the safety of Flint's water supply raged as the city struggled to control bacteria, total trihalmethanes (TTHM) and lead.

"Each agency continued to do it's own internal activities, and they did not share (the information) in the open public," former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said Friday, Jan. 15.

"There needs to be mandatory disclosures so the public is aware of what all those different agencies are doing," said Walling, who confirmed he was told of the issue in March 2015.

Walling said his concern at the time was ensuring that Flint officials provided all information needed by the county Health Department as it investigated the Legionnaires' outbreak -- something investigators said routinely did not happen.

The Journal could not immediately reach Mayor Karen Weaver for comment Friday.

In addition to the public agencies' knowledge of the potential link between the outbreak and the river, documents show:

* Worry about the river's possible role as a source of Legionnaires' dates back to at least Oct. 17, 2014, when representatives of the county Health Department and the city's water treatment plant met, discussing the county's "concerns regarding the increase in Legionella cases and possible association with the municipal water system," a county email says.

* County health investigators reported they ran into a wall of resistance from the city water officials as they attempted to gather information about possible sources of contamination in Flint's water system.

An internal email from a Health Department supervisor on Jan. 27, 2015, says employees at Flint's water treatment plant had not responded in months to "multiple written and verbal requests" for information, slowing progress on the probe.

In the same month that the email was written, two new cases of Legionnaries' were reported in the county.

* Information about the Legionnaire's outbreak was shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to an email from an employee with the federal agency from April 2015.

The email calls the Flint area outbreak "very large, one of the largest we know of in the past decade and community-wide, and in our opinion and experience it needs a comprehensive investigation."

County Health Department Chief Officer Mark Valacak said his employees contacted the CDC directly because they wanted to tap into expertise within the agency but were later told by the state Department of Health & Human Services that the federal assistance wasn't required.

Geralyn Lasher, a spokeswoman for the state Health & Human Services Department, said Friday that the CDC did work with the Health Department but said the agency's assistance was not required in June 2015.

At that time, the department told county officials that MDHHS would continue to offer resource and informational support as requested.

* Communication between the city and the county during the Legionnaires' investigation became so strained that the county resorted to filing a Freedom of Information Act request to get information it sought from the city in January 2015.

The FOIA asks the city for information including "specific water testing locations and laboratory results ... for coliform, E-coli, Heterotropic Bacteria and trihalomethanes."

The same request sought a map or list of locations detailing dead ends in the water system and areas of low pressure -- potential breeding grounds for bacteria.

More than five weeks later, the city had not responded to the FOIA request and a health supervisor with the county said the city's "lack of cooperation continues to prevent my office from performing our responsibilities."

Legionnaires' is a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia which is caused by bacteria found in water.

* The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was aware of the potential connection between Flint water and Legionnaires in early October 2014, but representatives of the agency never discussed the issue publicly.

The lack of any comment about the Legionnaires' outbreak and the possible connection to the river came despite DEQ officials appearing at public forums dealing with water safety and as representatives of the agency issued statements that assured Flint their water was safe.

Stephen Busch, district supervisor for the DEQ, said in a March 13, 2015, email to the county that it was "highly unlikely that legionella would be present in treated water coming from the city of Flint treatment plant ..."

DEQ Director Keith Creagh issued a written statement to The Journal Friday, saying the agency "played a support role" in the Legionnaires' investigation.

"During the past year, the Department of Environmental Quality played a support role to both the (state) Department of Health and Human Services and the Genesee County Health Department, providing assistance to local hospitals where it was suspected there may be issues.

"We proactively provided information and conducted site visits at the facilities in question and did evaluations to provide technical assistance to help identify remediative actions," the statement says.

Creagh was named DEQ director after the December resignation of former director Dan Wyant, who stepped down after a task force laid responsibility for the Flint water crisis at the feet of the department.

Snyder has declared a state of emergency because of the health fallout from lead exposure on Flint residents and requested federal disaster assistance.

Flint officials have said the city's aging water transmission pipes were also damaged by corrosive river water while it was used from April 2014 until October 2015 -- a period of time that the city was being run by emergency managers appointed by Snyder.

Valacak said the county's investigation into the source of Legionnaire's was hindered by both the DEQ and the city.

"We (had to) FOIA the city ... We copied the DEQ," Valacak said. "From the DEQ, we kept getting the comment that the water met all the DEQ standards (but) that didn't necessarily protect the public health."

Valacak said his office did not comment on the possible connection between the river and Legionnaires' because it was following protocols and attempting to answer the question about the potential link.

Like residents, Snyder's office said this week that the governor never learned of the possible tie until roughly 18 months after the initial spike in Legionnaire's.

State Medical Executive Eden V. Wells said Thursday, Jan. 14, that state health officials typically do not brief the governor's office of ongoing investigations, but continuing issues surrounding the city's water supply spurred the state's agency to release information this week in advance a formal report being released.