State admits mistakes in Flint water switch

FLINT — The State of Michigan has removed its top drinking water quality official and admitted it botched corrosion control in Flint water pipes, which resulted in elevated lead levels in the city's water system.

"Simply stated, staff employed a federal protocol they believed was appropriate, and it was not," Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said in a statement. "The water testing steps followed would have been correct for a city of less than 50,000 people, but not for a city of nearly 100,000."

Wyant announced that his top deputy, Jim Sygo, would step in as interim chief of the department's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance, replacing Liane Shekter Smith, who has been reassigned while the state reviews the problems in Flint.

Wyant said that Gov. Rick Snyder has called for a third-party review of the process but Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D–Flint) said in a statement that the state short-changed the safety of Flint residents.
“ It is clear from several, now available documents, that certain MDEQ and EPA staff chose to put their reputations ahead of the safety and health of Flint citizens, Ananich said. "We do not know whether the misapplication of federal rules was intentional or due to negligence. That’s why the Legislature needs to have a robust role in any investigation, and in ensuring those responsible for Flint’s water crisis are held accountable.”

At issue are chemicals added to municipal water systems to reduce corrosion in pipes.

For decades Flint bought its water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which has controlled corrosion since the early 1990's by adding phosphates to the water.

Last year, Flint left the Detroit system and began using its backup water source, the Flint River, as its main supply. But when the city treated that river water in its water plant, it never added phosphates as Detroit had done. What's more, researchers from Virginia Tech tested the Flint River water and concluded it was 19 times more corrosive than the water Detroit was supplying.

On Friday, Flint reconnected to Detroit water with the help of $12 million from the state, the C.S. Mott Foundation and the city.

The State Department of Environmental Quality is charged with monitoring water quality and ordered Flint —after the switch to the Flint River last year —to begin two rounds of water testing, each six months long, to check lead levels.

That testing is appropriate for systems that serve fewer than 50,000 people, but Flint has almost 100,000 users and federal protocols call for what's known as "optimized corrosion control," which is typically achieved by adding phosphates.

"Our staff was very clearly confused," MDEQ spokesman Brad Wurfel told the Free Press this morning, adding the state had never overseen a water source switch on a system as large as Flint's.

The river water was viewed as a temporary source until the new Karegnondi Water Authority completes a pipleline that will bring water from Lake Huron to Flint for treatment and distribution to Flint users.

"We will learn from this," Wyant said. "We will make necessary changes to see to it that our program becomes a national leader in public health protection."

Contact John Wisely: jwisely@freepress.com or 313-222-6825.

Contact Robin Erb: rerb@freepress.com or 313-222-2708.