Obama Says It Will Be Two Years Before Flint's Pipes Are Fixed

US President Barack Obama assured residents of Flint, Michigan on Wednesday that filtered water was safe to drink for anyone over the age of six.

But Obama also asked parents to make sure their children were tested for lead and warned that it could take at least another two years to replace water pipes in the city.

Still, the president drank from a glass of filtered water from Flint on what is his first trip to the city since a group of researchers and physicians confirmed last fall that lead leaching out of old piping left the water unsafe for residents to drink or bathe in.

"This used a filter," Obama said, describing the water, according to the Associated Press. "The water around this table was Flint water and it just confirms what we know scientifically, which is, if you're using a filter, if you're installing it, then Flint water at this point is drinkable."

Obama is scheduled to speak about the water crisis at 4:00pm Eastern Time following a discussion with community members about how the tainted water has affected them.

Residents of Flint, which is predominantly African-American and has a high rate of poverty, have accused the state and federal governments of responding sluggishly to the crisis, while Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, has appealed to the federal government for aid. Snyder wrote Obama in January requesting federal assistance in replacing and repairing Flint's water infrastructure. The president declared a federal emergency that month, which triggered federal funding for the beleaguered town. But Congress has yet to allocate more aid to Flint or other cities around the country struggling to repair aging water infrastructure.

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