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Flint, Mich. • The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality proposed a five-part strategy to determine whether Flint's water, which has become contaminated with lead, is safe to drink.
The state said the plan to try to ensure that drinking water no longer is tainted with lead includes residential water testing, school testing, food service and restaurant provider testing, blood testing and overall testing of Flint's water distribution system.
Flint switched its water source from Detroit's water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money. The river water was not treated properly and lead from pipes leached into Flint homes.
DEQ Interim Director Keith Creagh told the Detroit Free Press his agency will outline plans Monday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Creagh hopes "to be able to say something about the general health of the system come mid-April."
State officials say water samples from roughly 5,000 homes have been tested, and about 94 percent have are below the "actionable level" of 15 parts per billion for lead. Still, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder urged all residents to submit a free water test kit, which can be picked up and returned to designated Flint fire stations.
The DEQ said it's working with the state Department of Health and Human Services to make sure residents with high blood-lead levels get their water tested. Those homes are provided additional services in an effort to minimize lead exposure, the state said.
"We want to ensure that all homes are getting the proper immediate attention and the home water tests will help in that process," Snyder said late Sunday in a statement.
Snyder has accepted responsibility for the emergency while also blaming state and federal environmental regulators. Some have resigned, including the DEQ's former top official, or have been suspended.