'Got your back,' Obama tells Flint

He sips filtered water, pledges to ensure crisis’s resolution

Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, 8, greets the crowd after her introduction Wednesday by President Barack Obama at Northwestern High School in Flint, Mich. Mari wrote a letter inviting Obama to visit the city.
Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, 8, greets the crowd after her introduction Wednesday by President Barack Obama at Northwestern High School in Flint, Mich. Mari wrote a letter inviting Obama to visit the city.

FLINT, Mich. -- President Barack Obama drank filtered Flint water on Wednesday, promising to pressure local, state and national leaders until the water flowing through the Michigan city's pipes is safe.

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AP

President Barack Obama sips filtered city water Wednesday in Flint, Mich., in his first visit to the city since its water crisis began. “I’ve got your back,” he told residents, promising to put pressure on local, state and national leaders until Flint’s water is safe and free of lead.

"I've got your back," Obama said. "I will not rest, and I will make sure the leaders at every level of government don't rest, until every drop of water that flows to your homes is safe to drink, to cook with, to bathe in."

After officials briefed Obama on the federal government's response to the lead-contamination crisis and he addressed the news media, a reporter asked whether he would drink the water. The president said he usually avoids publicity stunts, but he took a drink, saying he wanted to show the water is safe.

"This used a filter," Obama said of the water. "The water around this table was Flint water, and it just confirms what we know scientifically, which is, if you're using a filter, if you're installing it, then Flint water at this point is drinkable."

He said clean water is a basic responsibility of government and that what happened in Flint was a man-made disaster that didn't have to happen.

Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint in mid-January and ordered federal aid to supplement the state and local response. At that point, however, the crisis was in full bloom.

The city's plight raised questions about whether race and poverty influenced decisions that led to the tainted water supply. More than 40 percent of Flint residents live in poverty, and more than half are black.

Obama, making his first visit to the city since the crisis began, said he didn't go to Flint to discuss issues of accountability.

"There are times for politics, and there are times for turf battles. This is not one of those times," Obama said. "All of us are going to have to really keep our eye on the ball, even when the cameras go away."

He said the water crisis stemmed from broader issues -- the hard times and neglect that had gripped Flint long ago. He said the focus now must be on rebuilding and moving the city "in a better direction."

Obama urged residents to use the water filters that are being provided free of charge, and for parents to have their children examined for lead in their bloodstreams. He also pressed people to let the taps run for five minutes every day to flush out any contaminants.

To save money while under state management, the city stopped using Detroit's Lake Huron water and began drawing its water from the Flint River in April 2014. But the water wasn't treated to control corrosion. As a result, lead was released from aging pipes and fixtures as water flowed into homes and businesses.

The source of the city's water was switched back to the Detroit system in October, but the lead problem still is not fully resolved, and people are drinking filtered or bottled water.

An independent commission appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder determined that the state primarily was responsible for the water contamination in Flint, and he issued an apology. But the Environmental Protection Agency's response has come under criticism from Snyder and some in Congress who say the EPA didn't move with the necessary urgency upon hearing of problems.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told Congress that staff members repeatedly urged the state to address the city's lack of corrosion controls but that "we missed the opportunity late last summer to quickly get EPA's concerns on the public's radar screen." An inspector general is investigating the EPA's response.

After visiting with federal health officials, Obama met with nine Flint residents at Northwestern High School. A water faucet outside the room warned students not to drink the water until further notice.

Speaking later in the school's gymnasium, the president promised residents that the aging pipes that contaminated the water will be replaced.

"It's not going to happen overnight, but we have to get it started," Obama told hundreds of people gathered at the high school.

Snyder spoke and was booed loudly as he was introduced in the gymnasium. Snyder said he understood why they were angry and frustrated and that he wanted to say he was sorry.

"You didn't create this problem," Snyder said. "Government failed you."

Many in the audience yelled back, "You failed."

Outside the school, Reneta Richard, a teacher and Flint resident, said she hopes Obama's trip has some effect on her hometown. She recently bought a house and said she's there for the long haul.

"I want him to leave a check -- right here, right now -- for pipe removal and medical bills and the life we're going to suffer," said Richard, 37, a single mother. "This isn't going to be over in 10 years."

She spoke a block from where dozens of protesters had gathered and were chanting "Flint lives matter" and "They think it's a game, they think it's a joke."

Congress is also grappling with how to help Flint, but progress has been slow. A Senate committee last week approved a $220 million aid package as part of a bill that would authorize nearly $4.8 billion for water-related projects around the country. The bill could come up for a Senate vote this month.

A Section on 05/05/2016

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