State Spends $3.6 Million On Flint Emergency Paychecks

LANSING, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - State data shows Michigan has spent millions to pay government workers scrambling to provide water, filters and other resources after lead contaminated Flint's water.

Michigan has spent more than $3.6 million for things like distributing and sampling water and administrative work.

The failure to provide corrosion control allowed water to scrape lead from the pipes after the city switched its water supply to the Flint River in 2014 to cut costs.

More than 500 people were paid to work on the Flint water crisis by the end of February compared to 200 people now.

The state has spent more than $22 million responding to the health emergency.

In Emails, Top Snyder Aides Raised Issues About Flint Water

Limited emails released by Snyder in February included this from Dennis Muchmore, Snyder's former chief of staff:

In July 2015, he wrote emails to two department directors warning that Flint residents who had complained about the smell, taste and appearance of the water and had raised health concerns were "basically getting blown off."

In October, Mark Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor who oversaw research on the lead in Flint's drinking water said lax oversight and manipulated data led to the water crisis.

Officials say filtered water is now safe except for pregnant women and children under age 6.

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