‘Surprise’ decision hailed as governor’s spokesman says state attorneys are reviewing order, with officials saying door-to-door delivery would cost $9m

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Residents of Flint, Michigan, who are facing the risk of lead contamination in their water are entitled to water bottle delivery to their home, a federal judge ruled this week.

David Lawson, a US district judge, said in a preliminary injunction that officials must deliver each week four cases of bottled water per resident to Flint households that don’t have properly installed taps.

“The interim relief is intended to provide a rough substitute for the essential service that municipal water systems must furnish: delivery of safe drinking water at the point of use,” Lawson wrote in the 37-page order. “The Court is convinced that this service can be achieved by means of the current water main and service line infrastructure, augmented by effective faucet filters that are installed and maintained properly.”

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Melissa Mays, a resident and mother of three sons, told the Guardian she was “thrilled” by the ruling.

“This came as a surprise and a very good one,” said Mays, who has been involved in efforts to raise awareness about the water crisis since it began.

Flint’s water became contaminated with lead in April 2014, when a state-appointed emergency manager decided to switch the city’s water source to a local river. The state’s environmental agency failed to require the city to use corrosion control to prevent lead from leaching off water pipes and flowing into households.

The state conceded the city’s water was contaminated in October 2015, and officials switched back to using its previous source, Lake Huron. But problems persisted, as the deteriorated water lines held Flint’s lead levels above federal levels that require remedial action. Officials still have said it is only safe for residents to drink tap water with a filter.

About $234m has been committed by the state of Michigan to replace lead service lines, provide clean water and filters, and offer additional healthcare services for residents in the city. But residents have long said that not enough has been done to address the city’s two-year water crisis.

A spokesperson for Michigan governor Rick Snyder, who isn’t named in the suit on which Lawson ruled, said state attorneys were reviewing his order.

“In the meantime, the state will continue providing free water resources for all Flint residents, including filters and bottled water delivery for those who request it, just as we have been,” she said.

The state said it would cost upward of $9m to deliver bottled water door-to-door. But Lawson – citing testimony from plaintiffs about the unreliability of a phone service to arrange for delivery, long lines at water stations across town, and the state’s inability to “consistently” deliver water to residents – said the situation merited additional measures.

“How the water crisis is resolved ultimately will be left to the City of Flint and the State of Michigan,” Lawson wrote. “Nonetheless, there is an immediate danger to Flint residents, and the nature of the defendants’ violations reasonably justify the relief ordered herein.”

Mays said an extra burden had been placed on residents ever since the state reduced hours and eliminated service at water supply stations on Sundays. The phone service for delivery has been problematic as well, she said.



“Most of the people who’ve called [the phone service] never had people come out,” she said. “It’s just not staffed.”

But the decision is only a “Band-Aid on a huge gaping wound”, she said, as “we still need the pipes replaced, we still need medical care for everyone.” Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, has sought to make replacing the city’s lead service lines a priority, but funding has been limited.

What’s more, she said, the city has about 6,000 undocumented immigrants, and most of them had the highest blood lead levels in Flint. Information about the water crisis was only being released in English, Mays said, hindering them from being able to seek treatment.

Now, under Lawson’s order, the state has to provide instructions pursuant to the order in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Hmong.

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“The initial notices must be delivered promptly, and thereafter whenever there is a material change in the information furnished,” Lawson said. “The notices must be delivered in a manner reasonably calculated to ensure actual notification to each household.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs praised the decision.



“The Court today affirmed that all people have the right the safe drinking water, including the people of Flint, Michigan,” said Dimple Chaudhary, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which filed the lawsuit. “The court correctly recognized that the government created this crisis, and it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that all people in Flint have access to safe drinking water.”

Meanwhile, Flint officials are concerned about how President-elect Donald Trump will address the city’s water crisis. The US Congress agreed to vote on a water bill that contained $170m for Flint, but the funding hasn’t been approved.