© 2026 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Police: Flint Losing Bottled Water To Non-Residents

bottled water
Daniel Orth
/
Flickr
People from towns other than Flint appear to be taking free water designated for residents of Flint.

A Michigan State Police official says people from outside Flint appear to be loading up on free bottled water.

Capt. Chris Kelenske says it might be time to require identification at the nine distribution sites in Flint. He says he has a "lot of anecdotal evidence" that non-residents are taking water.

Kelenske says more water is being distributed now than ever — a daily average of 21,500 cases in late July. Free water has been available since fall 2014 when Gov. Rick Snyder's administration finally acknowledged that Flint's water system was tainted by lead.

Flint stopped using the Flint River and returned to a Detroit regional system. Experts have been saying for months that the water is safe to drink if it first flows through a filter.

Related Content
WKAR has closed the gap left by the loss of federal funding. Because of you, trusted journalism, inspiring stories, and classical music remain freely available to everyone in mid-Michigan.
Now the work continues — your monthly gift helps maintain this success and keeps public media free for all.