The state of Michigan is asking for a stay of a federal court order that bottled water be delivered to Flint homes.
U.S. District Judge David Lawson issued an injunction last week directing the state of Michigan and city of Flint to begin delivering cases of bottled water to city residents without working water filters.
Tens of thousands of free filters have been handed out to Flint residents in the year since high levels of lead were detected in city tap water. The filters can screen out the lead, but only if installed and used correctly. Many Flint residents say they can’t install the filters.
City residents have also complained about the current system of nine water distribution sites, which can be difficult for some people to reach.
In its filing with the court, the state is requesting a stay of the court’s order citing “an immediate, insurmountable, burden” of trying to comply and adding city residents would not be “irreparably harmed”.
The state’s requests for a stay “inflicts more harm on a city that’s already hurting,” says Pastor Allen Overton with the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, one of the groups that filed a lawsuit to force the government to deliver bottled water.
