This is why some people think Michigan's governor must resign after a public health disaster in one of his cities
Those people include the likes of Michigan residents filing recall petitions as well as former Secretary of State and current Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her main competitor, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I).
"I think every single American should be outraged," Clinton said during Sunday night's Democratic debate. "We've had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor in many ways and majority African-American, has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care."
For his part, Snyder insisted his administration took action as soon as he became aware of "elevated lead levels in blood," Time reported.
On October 1, two months after the state "quietly" delivered 1,500 water filters to the city, Snyder first said he was aware of the problems with Flint's water supply, The Detroit Free Press reported. The state did not immediately instruct residents to stop drinking the water without a filter, however. It wasn't until January that the state began delivering water bottles and filters door-to-door, and Snyder declared a state of emergency in the area on January 5.
It wasn't until nine days after that announcement, on January 14, that Snyder asked Obama to declare a federal state of emergency, which freed up to $5 million in federal aid for Flint. The state previously allocated $10 million to assist Flint, Reuters reported.
Free Press Columnist Nancy Kaffer found that an analysis claiming Flint's water was safe last summer was deemed to be flawed by a number of state staffers, and was then promoted by the state. Another analysis that raised more concerns about the contaminated water supply was "disregarded," according to Kaffer.
Recently, it's become clear that a "dramatic" increase in cases of Legionnaires disease, a severe form of pneumonia, in Flint are likely connected to the tainted water supply, per the Free Press, which cited officials from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
At least eight petitions to recall Snyder were filed with Michigan's secretary of state as a result of the water crisis, the Free Press reported Thursday.
"There was some time period where we were offering filters, we were working hard to get water," he told Time. "All these kind of things. But not enough of it was being accepted. Now we're to the point now where hopefully we're fully engaged and have everyone working hard to make sure everyone in Flint has access to a water filter."
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which told residents the water was safe despite contradictory reports, was at fault of "being probably too technical in their interpretation of things or following a traditional pattern of doing things rather than stepping back to look at what else you might see in data," Snyder said.
Flint has been switched back onto Detroit's water supply until the lead contamination problem - which was a byproduct of the Flint River's "very corrosive" water leaching lead from an aging pipe system in the city - is solved. The head of Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality resigned as a result of the crisis.
"[I] should have been more proactive," he said, adding "It's a disaster."
Asked if he believed people calling for his resignation are making a "legitimate request," Snyder later said he won't be stepping down as governor.