Michigan sues Flint for delaying approval of water deal as residents say crisis has never really stopped

Some residents are risking their homes because they refuse to pay for water they say is unclean

(Rebecca Cook/Getty)

Michigan is suing the City of Flint for delaying approval of a long term water supply deal, saying that the hesitance in the city that has been plagued by dirty waters is endangering public health.

That’s even as some residents are risking their homes by refusing to pay their water bills, complaining about the quality of the water.

The lawsuit comes after the Flint city council stalled on the recommendation from Flint Mayor Karen Weaver to sign an extended, 30-year contract with with a Detroit water supplier, and instead approved a short-term extension of the contract. Ms Weaver is joined by state and federal officials in recommending the long term extension, saying that any more water supply switches could be dangerous for city residents.

“Ensuring that the residents of Flint have drinking water that meets public health standards is our primary concern”, Heidi Grether, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality director, told the Associated Press of the lawsuit.

But some residents say that their water isn’t clean, even after the city switched from a supply that wasn’t treated properly and led to lead leaching into the water systems there. As many as 8,000 residents now risk losing their homes after failing to pay their water bills, some saying that they’ve done so because they can’t use the water they’re provided anyway.

That’s because the state stepped in to block a measure approved by the city to provide relief to residents who faced the threat that the city would take over financial possession of homes — also known as a tax lien — should past due bills not be paid.

“The fact that the State feels it necessary to take the homes away from poisoned Flint residents, people they poisoned, is inhumane”, Melissa Mays, a water activist and Flint resident who has stopped paying her water bill and switched solely to bottled water, told the Independent.

Ms Mays had previously indicated that she was going to miss house payments in order to pay her water bill and keep her home. She says she hasn’t received a new threat of tax liens after the state reversed the Flint City Council’s one year moratorium on tax liens.

“No one should be forced to pay the highest rates in the country to water that they still cannot safely use or run the possibility of losing their home”, she said. “There is no dignity here in Flint. It's been removed continually by the State of Michigan”.