Live
Audio Only
Confusion continued in Flint, Michigan Saturday after residents complained of being asked for identification to receive clean drinking water.
Residents collecting water from relief stations have reported in recent days being asked for a government-issued ID. On Friday afternoon, a Yahoo News journalist reported seeing the National Guard inspecting IDs before residents could obtain drinking water.
“IDs were simply checked quickly to confirm, as one national guardsmen told me, that those receiving water have a Flint address,” Yahoo News reported.
Since then, state officials have said identification isn't required, though it is being requested as part of recovery planning efforts.
RELATED: Jesse Jackson Says Flint Water Crisis a Crime Against Humanity
Flint has been in a state of crisis since the discovery that municipal water had been contaminated with lead.
Earlier this month, the state of Michigan called a state of emergency in the town of Flint—which lies about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit—after toxic drinking water was found to be affecting the population, causing elevated levels of lead in children.
The move followed a similar one by Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who declared a state of emergency in December and called the issue a “man made disaster.” On Saturday, President Barack Obama also called a state of emergency in the state.
Flint’s water source was switched from the Detroit water system to the unfiltered and corrosive Flint River water in 2014 in a bid to save money. The city switched back to Detroit water again in October, but by that time some residents had been drinking the water for 19 months.
At least 10 people have died from the mainly water-borne Legionnaires' disease in Flint, but it is not yet known whether these deaths were linked to the toxins that were found in the water supply.
WATCH: Environmental Racism in Flint, Michigan
Newsletter
