Correspondence among

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 3:07:23 PM ODWMA is receiving a lot of calls with questions from Flint residents concerned about the safety of their drinking water. If you receive one of these calls, our message should be consistent — the drinking water distributed to city customers currently meets all drinking water standards and is considered safe. However, there is no safe level for lead. The fact that Flint meets the drinking water standard is based on an evaluation of the effectiveness of their treatment system to minimize lead leaching from plumbing materials. Compliance does not mean that under certain conditions that some homeowners may still have water in their domestic plumbing that has leached some lead from lead pipes or lead solder. The only way for a resident to know if they may be exposed to lead leaching from their plumbing system is having a sample from that residence analyzed for lead at a certified laboratory. The DEQ laboratory is not providing that service at no cost. The city of Flint currently is accommodating requests from residents without charging them, but the residents have to go through the city to arrange that sampling, and the city may have a backlog right now. If the caller has a result that indicates lead is present, or in the absence of a result, our advice should be to minimize any stagnation of the water before consumption, even without knowing if they have plumbing that contains lead. You could tell them they can do so by letting a faucet run for a few minutes or until the water is cooler (don’t set a time — it can be so variable) and then use it for drinking or cooking. Please be polite and empathetic if you receive one of these calls. | also want to thank you for the effort you have made to respond to this issue. It is noticed and appreciated. In recognition of your performance, | have arranged for you to receive a 2 percent merit increase starting tomorrow. Richard Richard Benzie, P.E., Chief Field Operations Section Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance, MDEQ 517-284-6512 xxxEND_PAGE:deq02_b317_3546_3546_1

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 3:07:00 PM ODWMA is receiving a lot of calls with questions from Flint residents concerned about the safety of their drinking water. If you receive one of these calls, our message should be consistent — the drinking water distributed to city customers currently meets all drinking water standards and is considered safe. However, there is no safe level for lead. The fact that Flint meets the drinking water standard is based on an evaluation of the effectiveness of their treatment system to minimize lead leaching from plumbing materials. Compliance does not mean that under certain conditions that some homeowners may still have water in their domestic plumbing that has leached some lead from lead pipes or lead solder. The only way for a resident to know if they may be exposed to lead leaching from their plumbing system is having a sample from that residence analyzed for lead at a certified laboratory. The DEQ laboratory is not providing that service at no cost. The city of Flint currently is accommodating requests from residents without charging them, but the residents have to go through the city to arrange that sampling, and the city may have a backlog right now. If the caller has a result that indicates lead is present, or in the absence of a result, our advice should be to minimize any stagnation of the water before consumption, even without knowing if they have plumbing that contains lead. You could tell them they can do so by letting a faucet run for a few minutes or until the water is cooler (don’t set a time — it can be so variable) and then use it for drinking or cooking. Please be polite and empathetic if you receive one of these calls. | also want to thank you for the effort you have made to respond to this issue. It is noticed and appreciated. In recognition of your performance, | have arranged for you to receive a 2 percent merit increase starting tomorrow. Richard Richard Benzie, P.E., Chief Field Operations Section Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance, MDEQ 517-284-6512 xxxEND_PAGE:deq04_b403_4643_4643_1

Mike and Bethel, Brock and | have a meeting off site tomorrow morning but plan to return in time for this meeting. Do we need to discuss anything on the agenda in advance? If so, we will be departing for our meeting about 10 AM.

Mike is on AL and won't be back until Feb. 28. If you need more detailed info in addition to Richard's you are welcome to stop by our office (Lansing District Office, 4th Floor North) and we may be able to provide you with what you need, if you can not wait for Mike. Bethel Skinker, P.E. District Engineer Resource Management Division Department of Environmental Quality 517-335-6127