Guard, FEMA helps Flint with water crisis

Associated Press

FLINT, Mich.

Members of the Michigan National Guard began arriving in Flint on Wednesday for briefings on the drinking-water crisis just as state health officials reported a spike in Legionnaires’ disease cases in the county where the city is located.

Gov. Rick Snyder activated the National Guard late Tuesday, and Lt. Col. William Humes confirmed about a half-dozen representatives arrived Wednesday morning. They are part of a larger contingent of Guardsmen who will help distribute bottled water, filters and other supplies to residents.

Flint’s tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply in 2014 to save money while under state financial management.

Local officials first declared a public-health emergency in October in response to tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead.