Grand Rapids, Mich. • Flint residents were warned Friday that water samples from more than two dozen city locations have higher lead levels than filters can handle and that further tests are recommended.
Dr. Nicole Lurie of the Department of Health and Human Services said the lead level in some Flint locations has exceeded 150 parts per billion, which is the level for which water filters are graded. She said people with levels over 150 ppb are being notified and their water being retested.
"We aren't completely sure" why the readings are so high, Lurie said.
The water was tested by officials before it got to a filter, and she stressed that the results do not mean officials think there's a problem with the filters.
"We still have confidence in the filters," said Mark Durno of the EPA. "If you have not had your water tested, get it tested now."
Flint residents have been told to drink only filtered or bottled water because of lead contamination in the city's supply. County health officials had declared a public health emergency Oct. 1, and the next day Gov. Rick Snyder announced $1 million for home water filters.
Improperly treated water leached lead from pipes into drinking water after Flint switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. Some children's blood has tested positive for lead, which has been linked to learning disabilities, lower IQ and behavioral problems. Flint has reconnected to Detroit's system for now.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law $28 million more in emergency funding, and said he didn't know some state workers in the city had received bottled water last year while officials were still telling residents that tap water was safe to drink.
It's the second round of state aid for the city since the crisis was confirmed in the fall, bringing the total allocated to nearly $39 million. The Republican governor said the funding will provide immediate resources in Flint, but is not the end of state assistance.
"It's time to stand up and recognize that things could have been done differently," Snyder said before signing the aid legislation. "Mistakes were made. ... We're going to solve them."
Snyder has accepted responsibility for the emergency while also blaming state and federal environmental regulators, some of whom have resigned or have been suspended. But he remains the target of criticism, including longshot efforts to recall him from office. In pledging again to fix the problem, he said, "how do you learn from things that didn't go right to be even stronger and better for the long term?"
News that employees at a state building in Flint received fresh bottled water came Thursday in emails released by Progress Michigan, a liberal group critical of Snyder.
Snyder said Friday he had "no knowledge of that taking place."
The governor's spokesman Dave Murray said the water was for both employees and residents visiting the building.
In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Porshe Loyd, uses bottled water to wash her three-week-old son, LeAndrew, in a baby bather in the kitchen sink at their home in Flint, Mich. At home she has cases of bottled water that she bought or received from the Flint Fire Department or Michigan State Police troopers stored along a wall. Improperly treated water leached lead from pipes into drinking water after Flint switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. (Todd McInturf/The Detroit News via AP)
In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Anna Rushing, left, 73, and her sister, Nancy Watson, right, 72, both of Flint, talk about their itchy, red and dry skin symptoms they believe they received from the lead in Flint water as they talk near cases of bottled water in the kitchen. (Todd McInturf/The Detroit News via AP)
In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2016, a poster offering a $5,000 reward for "citizen arrest" of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is displayed in downtown Ann Arbor, Mich. The posters were among messages criticizing Snyder, including ones written in chalk on sidewalks, over his handling of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. (Ryan Stanton /The Ann Arbor News via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2016, a poster offering a $5,000 reward for "citizen arrest" of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is displayed in downtown Ann Arbor, Mich. The posters were among messages criticizing Snyder, including ones written in chalk on sidewalks, over his handling of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. (Ryan Stanton /The Ann Arbor News via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Melted snow catches the light atop hundreds of bottles of water ready for distribution outside of a Flint Fire Station on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in downtown Flint, Mich. Officials have announced new recycling efforts in Flint in response to the heavy use of bottled water and filters because of lead-contaminated tap water. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Liam Briones sleeps in a car seat as his father drives around from fire station to fire station gathering water for the week as it stacks around him in the back seat of the car on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016,at a Flint Fire Station in downtown Flint. Officials have announced new recycling efforts in Flint in response to the heavy use of bottled water and filters because of lead-contaminated tap water. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Lynna Kaucheck, senior organizer at Food and Water Watch, Flint resident Melissa Mays, a founder of Water You Fighting For?, and Lila Cabbil of Detroit's People's Water Board, each stand along the wall outside of Flint Mayor Karen Weaver's office with petitions containing more than 21,000 signatures to demand a moratorium on water bills in the city on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, at City Hall in downtown Flint, Mich. Flint's water became contaminated when the city, under emergency state management, switched from the Detroit municipal system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Residents receive free water filters from National Guard soldiers on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, at a Flint Fire Station in downtown Flint, Mich. Flint's water became contaminated when the city, under emergency state management, switched from the Detroit municipal system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Lynna Kaucheck, senior organizer for Food and Water Watch, hands a petition with more than 21,000 signatures to demand a moratorium on water bills directly to City Administrator Natasha Henderson while she walks in on her cell phone on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, at City Hall in downtown Flint, Mich. Flint's water became contaminated when the city, under emergency state management, switched from the Detroit municipal system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley speaks at a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, at a Flint Fire Station in Flint Mich. Officials announced new recycling efforts in Flint in response to the heavy use of bottled water and filters because of lead-contaminated tap water. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
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