LANSING, Mich. (AP) – The country’s top environmental regulator has warned of “systemic” problems that threaten the long-term ability to provide safe drinking water in Flint after the city’s lead contamination crisis subsides.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Flint’s distribution system is too big compared to the demand, letting water stagnate in pipes and potentially preventing chlorine from fighting disease-causing pathogens.
In a letter Thursday, she also told Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver that the water treatment plant is understaffed and lacks enough experienced employees. She questioned whether Flint administrators would be able to provide quality administrative support and noted the need for a “solid and realistic” financial plan in Flint, where residents pay some of the highest water bills in the U.S.
“The principal issues that must be addressed for long-term system reliability are systemic issues that go well beyond what is necessary to deal with the immediate crisis,” McCarthy wrote.
She said federal, state and city officials have made strides to address the public health emergency by reducing lead levels and improving other key water-quality parameters. But she cited “significant challenges” in the long term that “will require the joint, sustained effort of both the city and the state.”