Bottled water for Flint

The state plans to fight a court order to deliver bottled water to Flint homes. In this photo donated water bottles are headed to Flint. (Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette)

(File Photo)

DETROIT, MI -- The state plans to argue against a federal judge's order that water must be delivered to the homes of Flint residents, according to a document filed in federal court on Thursday.

In a preliminary injunction issued Nov. 10, U.S. District Court Judge David M. Lawson ordered door-to-door deliveries for Flint residents which authorities couldn't prove had functioning filters. Water is currently distributed through sites where residents can come pick up bottled water.

But the deliveries the judge ordered had not yet begun, and now attorneys for the state treasurer are arguing that the directive should be paused until they can appeal.

"The required injunction far exceeds what is necessary to ensure Flint residents have access to safe drinking water," attorneys for the defendants argued in a filing on Thursday.

Flint residents are relying on bottled and filtered water after a water source switch overseen by the state resulted in more corrosive water leaching lead from pipes and into the city's supply. An unknown number of adults and children were exposed to the neurotoxin.

The preliminary injunction ordering water delivery came as part of a lawsuit brought by Concerned Pastors for Social Action, Flint resident Melissa Mays, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the ACLU of Michigan against the State Treasurer and the Receivership Transition Advisory Board.

State attorneys say the preliminary injunction would require a "tremendous expenditure" of taxpayer funds -- an estimated $10.5 million per month to taxpayers. The state claims that 90 percent of homes and 99.7 percent of apartments had water filters, according to the court filing.

Delivering the water, the state contends, would take funding away from other efforts related to the water crisis, like supporting food banks, school nurses and lead abatement.

"If the appropriated funds for Flint relief are redirected solely to comply with the Court's order, some of the broader relief efforts will be left without funding," the filing reads.

To deliver the required four cases per resident per week state and local authorities would need an additional 137 delivery trucks and drivers, the filing said, and increase warehouse capacity and staff.

Also, the state said residents switching to bottled water from filtered water would slow the system's recovery, as moving water through the pipes helps distribute a protective coating.

Lawson found the state's motion to stay the preliminary injunction warranted consideration, and ordered the plaintiffs to submit a response by Nov. 23.

Note: The headline of this article has been changed to reflect that delivery is estimated to cost the state $10.5 million per month.