Emails Show Officials Told About Flint Water, Legionnaires' Link Last March

This story has been updated with a statement from Gov. Rick Snyder released early Thursday evening.

LANSING, MI – Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s top advisers knew about a potential link between a spike in Legionnaires’ disease and Flint’s lead-contaminated drinking water supply months before the governor told the public about it, according to internal emails obtained by Progress Michigan.

Snyder claimed on Jan. 13 that he had only known about it for a couple of days, but internal emails obtained by Progress Michigan under the Freedom of Information Act suggest he learned of the Legionnaires’ outbreak almost a year ago.

Various state officials were ware of the Legionnaires’ outbreak — which is linked to at least 10 deaths — and were besieged with questions about whether bacteria in water from the Flint River might be responsible, according to the emails.

The city began getting corrosive water from the river in 2014 while under the control of a Snyder-appointed emergency manager, who approved the move to help the financially struggling city shore up its finances.

In a March 10, 2015, email to the state appointed emergency manager and top-ranking officials with the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, Genesee County environmental health supervisor Jim Henry wrote that “the increase of the illnesses closely corresponds with the timeframe of the switch to the Flint River water. The majority of the cases reside or have an association with the city.”

The disclosure of the emails compounds the problems for Snyder, who is scrambling to restore public confidence in his administration after an unknown number of children and others in Flint were exposed to lead contamination in the city’s drinking water supply.

In a statement released early Thursday evening, Snyder said he wasn’t briefed about the Legionnaires’ issue until last month, and then promptly took action and publicly released the information. The statement read:

“The emails from the Department of Environmental Quality claim the information is ’premature and prejudice’ and that attributing it to the river is ’beyond irresponsible.’

“When Harvey Hollins received the March email, he requested the DEQ look into the concerns, check with its experts, and get the facts. If the concerns were determined to be credible, the director was to bring the issue to the attention of the Governor.

“The issue was not brought to the Governor’s attention until January of this year. Gov. Snyder has made changes at the department to address these concerns and change the culture to best protect the well-being of Michiganders.”

Read the full emails below: