Rick Snyder is listening. And drinking.
The beleaguered Michigan governor, who has faced cascading criticism for his handling of the Flint water crisis, announced Monday that he would comply with city residents' demand and drink from the tap for the next month.
“I completely understand why some Flint residents are hesitant to drink the water and I am hopeful I can alleviate some of the skepticism and mistrust by putting words to action,” Snyder said in a statement. “Flint residents made it clear that they would like to see me personally drink the water, so today I am fulfilling that request. And I will continue drinking Flint water at work and at home for at least 30 days.”
The news comes one week after researchers declared that Flint’s water was safe to drink — so long as a filter is used, NBC affiliate WDIV reported. But for the city’s system to recover, Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards explained, more water needs to flow through it, the station reported.
The governor’s statement added that Snyder visited the home of a Flint resident who is skeptical that a filter would clean up her water. In a Twitter post, Snyder included photos of the two sitting and chatting.
“Spent time with Cheryl, a Flint resident, at her home in the city and drank filtered #Flint water with her,” he wrote.