As Flint water improves, details scarce about how crisis can end

It has been 347 days since the City of Flint declared its lead-tainted water unsafe to drink straight from the tap, and 250 days since Gov. Rick Snyder put the city into a state of emergency.

But the federal Environmental Protection Agency's top official on the ground in Flint doesn't expect current water restrictions to end anytime soon.

Mark Durno, deputy chief of the EPA's emergency response branch, said in an interview that barring extraordinary improvement in water quality this fall, it is likely that the city will remain on filters through at least the rest of the year.

"I wouldn't think so now," Durno said of the idea of lifting the filter restriction before another round of water testing is complete in December. "We're going to be where we are now for the rest of the calendar year" unless lead levels drop more dramatically than expected.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/09/11/flint-water-improves-details-scarce-how-crisis-can-end/89545656/