Public Media from Michigan State University

State Police: Flint Losing Bottled Water To Non-Residents

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

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.

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