Flint Residents Receive Water Bill From Michigan State

Michigan state burdens Flint residents with water bills despite water still being toxic

The state of Michigan has ended a program Wednesday subsidizing water bills for Flint residents, causing more outrage and strain on the embattled community who still worries about their health, reports ABC News.

The state has formally ended a program that subsidized the water bills of some Flint residents, after a public health crisis that rendered the city’s water undrinkable nearly three years ago due to lead contamination.

Anna Heaton, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder, told ABC News today that tests conducted on Flint’s tap water in the past three months found that it meets all federal standards, although state officials recommend the use of filters as a precaution. The state is providing the filters.

The recent tests, which Heaton emphasized were overseen by Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech University professor who helped uncover the problem, have done little to reassure many worried residents, some of whom had hoped to address the issue this morning outside Mayor Karen Weaver’s office. “The trust is simply not there in this community anymore,” Lisia Williams, a community activist who attempted but failed to speak to the mayor this morning, told ABC News. “Do we trust our water? No. Do we trust our governor? No. Our elected officials? No.”

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said that the “city was caught off guard,” adding that state officials promised the payments would continue through March 31, with the cost of water being very high in comparison to other cities, reports NPR.

Flint residents lived more than 1000 days without pure water and now must pay for this. This is injustice that comes from above. It happened under Obama and there is no sign that Flint residents‘ misfortune will end.