Michigan government officials released more emails on Friday regarding Flint water crisis. The newly released documents reveal that the state government knew about Flint Legionnaires' disease at least 10 months before a public announcement was made.
According to Detroit News, more than 24,000 pages of Flint-related documents released by the governor's office reveal that Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Midwest water experts held a conference in late March to discuss the Flint Legionnaire's outbreak and its possible connection to the Flint water system.
One of the released documents reveals that Miguel Del Toral of EPA expressed concerned about the lack of corrosion controls and the likely risk of lead contamination in Flint's water. In the conference, Del Toral discussed the possibility that extensive flushing of Flint's water by residents may have caused Legionella bacterial growth.
From June 2014 until November 2015, Michigan Genesee County reported 87 cases of Legionnaires', including ten deaths.
In a cost-cutting move, Flint switched its water supply from Detroit to the Flint River in April 2014. The corrosive water from Flint River caused a serious public health threat.
The released records show that in the March conference EPA experts offered to come to Flint and study the origins of the outbreak, but state and county officials appear to have never followed through with the offer.
The documents show that the EPA stayed publicly silent about the threats to public health in Genessee County, while state and local officials debated how to approach the problem.
The records also indicate that officials at the flint water plant felt rushed to make switch from Detroit to Flint River. The officials say they were not ready but higher-ups had their own agenda. Del Toral's email in April 2015 said that Flint has essentially not been using any corrosion control treatment since April 30, 2014, Click on Detroit reports.
The emails show that Stephan Busch, a district manager in the drinking water division for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, wrote in March that Flint should take action to optimize water quality to help limit the potential for occurence of Legionella.
The records show that Busch, who was suspended last month, struggled over the issue with county officials saying it was premature to link the public water system with Legionella.
According to Reuters, Progress Michigan said Friday's release of documents and emails was all for show. The liberal group called on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to release his and those of his executive staff.
Snyder alerted the public to the Flint Legionnaires' outbreak on January 13 and said he had only heard about it two days earlier.
The U.S. House of Representatives oversight panel said Snyder would testify on the Flint water case next month.
