By Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press

LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder has sent a letter to state employees, telling them what happened in Flint must never happen again.

"As you have heard from me and the media, our reputation and trust can be severely impacted when people do not make good decisions, or use good judgment in solving problems," Snyder said in the letter sent Friday to more than 46,000 state employees.

"That principle is universal, but never more so than when public health is at stake. What happened in Flint can never be allowed to happen again anywhere in our state."

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Snyder sent the letter as the state grapples with a huge public health crisis related to lead contamination of Flint's drinking water. Lead began leaching into the water after the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched its source of supply in April 2014 from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to water from the Flint River, treated at the Flint water treatment plant.

The state Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged it failed to require needed corrosion-control chemicals to be added to the water, allowing lead to leach from pipes, joints and fixtures into an unknown number of Flint households. For months, the state denied reports of elevated lead levels in drinking water and the blood of Flint children, before acknowledging a problem around Oct. 1. Flint and Genesee County are now under state and federal emergency declarations.

Although the source of supply was switched back to Detroit in October, it's not clear when the water will be safe to drink again because of damage done to the water distribution infrastructure.

In the letter, Snyder said he appreciates the work of state employees and "the way you care about the citizens we serve, and how it is reflected in the work that you do."

Snyder also thanked state employees who have given their own time to volunteer in Flint, such as by distributing bottled water and filters.

"I know that you want to work in a place where employee input is valued, efforts are recognized, and teams are always striving for continuous improvement," Snyder said.

"That’s why we introduced employee surveys, Bureaucracy Busters and other reinvention initiatives. We want and deserve a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and employee engagement at every level. We can never take for granted how important the people are who depend on us to do our jobs, and I am asking you not to let the situation in Flint negatively impact your motivation to excel every day."

Ray Holman, legislative liaison for UAW Local 6000, the largest state employee union, said Snyder is "trying to have it both ways" in the letter.

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"In some sense, he's trying to blame rank and file state employees, but at the same time, he's trying to tell them to think out of the box, and not (exclusively) follow technical rules, and use common sense.

"But that doesn't always match up with the way traditional state government has been operating," Holman said.

Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said Snyder "has said there are some employees in the Department of Environmental Quality who did not show common sense in regards to the Flint water situation."

"There also were missteps at the city and federal levels," Murray said. "A number of changes have been made at the DEQ and we are moving forward, focused on protecting the health and safety of Flint residents."

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.