Flint city council has failed to come up with a long-term solution to their water crisis, a judge announced on Friday, more than three years after high levels of lead were first recorded in the water supply.
US District Judge David Lawson rejected the council’s proposal for an extension with the Great Lakes Water Authority.
He argued that the two-year extension was not the long-term plan that he had ordered last week and refused a request for more time from the council.
The town, which lies outside Detroit, may be pushed into bankruptcy as a result of the delayed solution.
Mr Lawson was adamant that council members were elected to “govern by acting in the interest of the common good”.
He said: “That has not happened over the past year and now time, which is of the essence, is in short supply."
The immediate impact of the judge’s decision remains unclear. The 30-year deal would have relieved the city of bond debt to a different water agency and supplied residents with “safe water at predictable rates”, he said.
In 2014 Flint residents were faced with poisoned water supply after the city switched its water source to the local Lake Huron river to cut costs.
Almost immediately residents complained of the taste, discolouration and smell of the water which was found in 2016 to have poisoned with extremely high levels of lead.
In June, five local officials were convicted of involuntary manslaughter but Flint is still dealing with a lack of clean water.
Additional reporting AP
