Michigan Official: Federal Water Rules Not Followed In Flint

FLINT, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - The head of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality says federal rules governing drinking water weren't followed properly in Flint, where problems with lead prompted officials to declare a public health emergency.

Director of Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality Dan Wyant on Sunday acknowledged mistakes by the state in its handling of the situation and says "necessary changes" are being made.

"Water coming out of the system is tested consistently, seven times, most recently, August 2014 non-detect for lead. When it passes through lead service lines you get the potential for corrosion - the corrosion than creates the exposure and so DEQ simply needed to apply a stronger corrosion control standard," Wyant told WWJ.

None of the DEQ staff testing Flint's water supply, of a population of about 100,000 people, had ever worked on a city larger than that of 50,000 residents.

And they relied on federal testing rules for cities half-the-size of Flint.

"DEQ needs to acknowledge that there were some mistakes in the handling of Flint drinking water -- our actions reflect some inexperience with understanding corrosion control and our public response to criticism was the wrong tone," said Wyant.

He says in addition, the Flint River is a complicated and a more corrosive water source to treat than the deeper waters of the Great Lakes, like Lake Huron because of his higher levels of minerals and agriculture runoff.

The Detroit News and Michigan Radio report a state official responsible for the safety of drinking water has been reassigned as officials await the outcome of an independent review of the state's role in Flint's water crisis.

Flint reconnected to Detroit's water system Friday in hopes of resolving the health emergency spurred by a switch to river water that was aimed at saving money but left children with elevated lead levels.

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