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A year later, Flint still grappling with man-made water crisis

Posted at 8:24 AM, Sep 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-24 08:24:08-04

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – A year after Flint’s tap water was exposed as a source of dangerous levels of lead, residents are still grappling with the man-made public health crisis.

A year ago Saturday, doctors discovered high amounts of the toxin in children and warned against using the Flint River water. Local health officials declared an emergency and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder confirmed there were “serious issues.”

In addition criminal investigations, the crisis has sparked congressional hearings, lawsuits and scrutiny of lead testing across the country.

Flint returned to a Detroit-area water system in October. But the city’s 99,000 frustrated residents still can’t drink the water without a filter until the system has been made safe with corrosion-reducing phosphates.

The state is still distributing filters and bottled water at spots throughout Flint.