[JURIST] A federal judge in Michigan on Thursday ordered [opinion, PDF] the city of Flint to deliver bottled water to its residents after the town switched to a more affordable water source that resulted in lead contamination. The plaintiffs initially filed a preliminary injunction accusing the city of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) [text, PDF] and requesting both immediate and long term relief. Judge David Lawson granted the injunction, ruling that public interest and necessity overruled the defendant’s argument that relief would create a heavy financial burden.

How the water crisis is resolved ultimately will be left to the City of Flint and the State of Michigan. Nonetheless, there is an immediate danger to Flint residents, and the nature of the defendants’ violations reasonably justify the relief ordered herein. There is already a water distribution mechanism in place, so the relief the plaintiffs seek in light of what is already being provided may be a far less drastic than the defendants believe. The public interest factor favors the plaintiffs.

As per the judge’s order, the city must provide each household with four cases of bottled water per week per resident.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed in response to the Flint water contamination crisis. Last month a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that Flint residents can sue state officials over the recent water crisis. In May the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People brought a lawsuit [JURIST report] against against Michigan officials for their action and inaction in Flint. A month prior a group of Flint residents filed an administrative complaint [JURIST report] against the Environmental Protection Agency for negligence in handling the Flint water crisis. David Leyton, a prosecutor in Genesee County, Michigan, announced in April that a Michigan judge would allow criminal charges [JURIST report] against three people involved in the water crisis in Flint, including the man who supervised the treatment plant as well as two state environmental officials. Earlier in April the city of Flint filed [JURIST report] an intent to sue letter with the state, claiming that the city lacks funds to defend itself against lawsuit filed during the water crisis. Hertz Schram PC, a southeastern Michigan firm, filed [JURIST report] a class action lawsuit in March on behalf of the children in Flint who were injured by exposure to the high levels of lead in the city’s drinking water.