During his state of the state address, Rick Snyder announced a $28m request to aid residents whose water last year was found to contain high levels of lead

Michigan governor Rick Snyder said during his state of the state address on Tuesday that he would release his emails related to the city of Flint’s water crisis and request a $28m appropriation from the legislature to help aid the town’s residents.

“We will not stop working for the people of Flint until every person has clean water, every single day, no matter what,” the governor said on Tuesday. The town’s water supply was found to have been poisoned with extremely high levels of lead last year. As part of his appropriation request, Snyder said the additional funding would provide bottled water, faucet filters, and lead-testing kits for households in the city of 100,000.

Critics of the governor’s handling of the contamination have been calling for the release of his emails, which the governor said he would allow on Wednesday. Michigan is only one of two states where the governor’s office is exempted from the Freedom of Information Act.

“Tomorrow I will release my 2014 and 2015 emails regarding Flint to you, the citizens, so that you have answers to your questions about what we’ve done and what we’re doing to make this right for the families of Flint,” Snyder said.

The governor, who has dismissed calls for him to step down over the Flint crisis, aimed to take full responsibility during the 50-minute speech, and, in recent weeks, has ramped up the state’s response.

The $28m in extra funding would be used to cover financial shortfalls to Flint utilities to prevent water service shutoffs, Snyder said. He added that over 37,000 cases of water and nearly 54,000 water filters had been distributed across Flint. Last month the Michigan national guard was deployed to Flint, and Snyder said more will report to the city on Wednesday.

“There can be no excuse,” he said. “When Michiganders turn on the tap, they expect and they deserve clean, safe water. It is that simple.”

But critics, who had organized a rally outside the state capitol earlier on Tuesday, have said the effort has come too late.

About 350 protesters, bundled in their winter wear, gathered outside the building. Chants included “clean water is a right, not just for the rich and white” and “Flint lives matter”. Picket signs called for Snyder’s arrest and resignation, with statements like: “What did you know? When did you know it?”

Flint resident Richard Vasquez was protesting, sign in hand, on the capitol steps. He said his water has been discolored, and that his water bill has been excessively high.



“We are not a third world. This is America, this should not happen here.” Vasquez said. “That’s why we have people from all over the city and world here, supporting Flint. Because it can happen to you, it can happen in your city.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protestors rally outside the state capitol during Rick Snyder’s state of the state address. Photograph: Sean Proctor/AP

Carmen Pace lives in Vienna township, which is right outside of Flint. She and her family thought they were unaffected until recent weeks, when their search for tax forms helped them find a town newsletter that said they were receiving Flint water.



“They blame Flint for being so impoverished, for those people not fleeing already,” Pace said. “They constantly get this kind of treatment, and they don’t deserve it. So when our next generation of kids comes out, with lower IQs, then they’re going to blame us some more.”



Following a decision in 2014 to switch Flint’s water source to the local river, instead of from Detroit’s water utility, residents immediately raised concerns about the quality of water in their homes. The situation continued to deteriorate last year, as a team of researchers and residents tested the water for lead, indicating the corrosive river was leaching lead off household water pipes and flowing into the system.



Initial tests also revealed elevated levels of chemical compounds in the water supply that can lead to liver or kidney issues. Nonetheless, officials downplayed residents’ concerns by saying the water was safe to drink.

Officials vehemently disputed the research until, in October of last year, Snyder admitted the situation was far graver than he initially understood and announced a $12m plan to transfer Flint back to its previous supply with Detroit.

Low exposure to lead, a powerful neurotoxin, can produce long-term health effects, particularly in young children in the form of behavioral problems or lower IQ. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no safe level of lead exposure.

Lonnie Scott, the executive director of Progress Michigan, a left-leaning communications organization based in Lansing, Michigan, told the Guardian that Tuesday night’s rally included 20 different organizations from around the state.

Several hundred attendees arrived by bus and car to take part, including families affected directly by the contamination crisis.

Some groups were expected to call for Snyder’s resignation and arrest, while others sought a full investigation, more transparency and accountability.

Michael Sabbagh, a Detroit-based doctoral student and activist, headed to Lansing on Tuesday evening as a legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild.

Sabbagh said the Flint crisis had been a rallying cause for people all corners of the state, with previous rallies and protests, including in front of Snyder’s residence in the university town of Ann Arbor, attracting a diverse crowd.

“The governor’s office was so dismissive of reports of water contamination for over a year,” Sabbagh said, “and they had all the information.

“It’s so ironic that Snyder came into office with a message of transparency and good governance,” Sabbagh said of the Michigan governor, a Republican, whose background is in business and accounting. Most protesters want Snyder to step down, he said.

“I don’t think most people would be satisfied with anything short of resignation. Most protesters’ demands are [for] Governor Snyder’s resignation and potential arrest,” he said.

The Michigan Nurses Association was also among Tuesday night’s rally organizing groups. Demand to take part in the rally came from members, said Sara Wallenfang, speaking on behalf of the organization to the Guardian.

Cheryl Weston, a registered nurse of 35 years, spent part of her childhood in Flint, and lives a 10-minute drive away from the city.

Weston said she had spoken to dozens of families in Flint who said their children were having problems concentrating in school. According to the World Health Organization, young children are particularly vulnerable to lead contamination, which can lead to intellectual disabilities, among other toxic effects.



Apart from the health costs of the lead poisoning, Weston said families she had spoken to in Flint were also having to pay out of their own pockets for appliances like filters, water softeners and water heaters. Flint’s percentage of people living below the poverty line is a staggering 41%.

Weston said Flint hospitals have stopped using water coming out of their taps even for simple washing purposes. “That tells me a lot,” she said.

“[Snyder] needs to be held accountable,” she added. “If I knowingly poisoned someone, I would go to jail. If they knowingly poisoned someone, they should go to jail too.”