It has been more than 1,000 days since the city of Flint, Mich., had clean water, and President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver late Wednesday to discuss the city’s ongoing water crisis.
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NBC News reports that Weaver has “vociferously criticized state and federal officials lack of response during the water scandal,” and in a statement issued Wednesday morning, she said she was “thankful” that the president reached out to her to “discuss the Flint Water Crisis.”
“I will be asking the President to do all things within his power to make our city whole and great again after the horrific man-made injustice that was caused here. I will not rest until the residents and businesses that I have the pleasure of serving are able to drink, cook and bathe with water straight from the tap which is a basic human right!” Weaver said in her statement.
As NBC reports, the federal emergency declaration over the city’s water crisis was lifted in August, and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality released test results earlier this year that show the lead levels in Flint’s water supply are below federal limits.
And yet residents are still told not to use or drink the water without an approved filter on the tap, and even Weaver acknowledged to city residents that “we are not out of the woods yet,” although she is encouraged by the test results.
The lead-contaminated water has also led to other problems for city residents. There was an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease, which resulted in 12 deaths; and a rash of shigellosis, a bacterial disease that is the result of poor hand-washing hygiene, was also reported.
And as if the residents of Flint had not suffered enough indignity, the state stopped a financial credit program and began requiring residents to pay full price for water that they are not able to use. In addition, residents now face disconnection of service if they are unable to pay for the water they cannot use.
I’m not sure what Weaver is hoping Trump will do. It is his administration that is stripping the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency as we speak. Flint was promised money through a federal grant program that is making the city jump through a million hoops before it can even get it. If anyone actually cared about the people of Flint, the water would have been fixed three years ago when the problem started.
Read more at NBC News.
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