As National Guard troops patrol Flint handing out bottled water, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder defended his handling of the crisis and defied calls for him to resign. 
 
 “As soon as I became aware of elevated lead levels in blood,” Snyder said on Jan. 14 in an exclusive interview with TIME at his office in Lansing, “we took action.” 
 
 The crisis in the struggling industrial city of 100,000 dates to April 2014, when Flint switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in order to save money. The river water turned out to be highly corrosive to the city’s pipes, leaching toxic levels of lead into water being used for drinking, cooking and bathing. Shortly after the switch, residents began complaining of discoloration in the water, bad odors and health effects like headaches and rashes. Last summer, researchers at Virginia Tech found that the water in some homes contained enough lead to be considered toxic waste. On Jan. 5, months after testing revealed the city’s water supply was unsafe, Snyder declared a state of emergency. Nine days later, the governor announced that he had asked the Obama administration to designate the county surrounding Flint as a federal emergency area. 
 
 What the state and its governor, a Republican who was re-elected in 2014 after helping Detroit emerge from bankruptcy, knew and when they knew it have emerged as critical questions as the crisis stretches into its 19th month. Residents and a growing number of local and national officials have accused Snyder of ignoring a public health emergency, with some calling for him to step down as a result. 
 
 In an interview with TIME shortly before he announced the federal emergency request, Snyder says he first knew about potentially serious problems with the water supply on Oct. 1, 2015, when testing by state environmental officials confirmed elevated levels of lead. Pressed on whether that was the first time he became aware of any concern with Flint’s water, Snyder says, “Obviously, I knew there were water issues in Flint. But did I know there were unsafe blood levels? No.” 
 
 Read more: Michigan Governor Sends Bottled Water to Flint 
 
 In a recently-released email from July 2015, Snyder’s former chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, wrote to a state health department official that he was concerned that Flint residents believed they were getting “blown off” by state officials. Snyder says the email shows that his office was not neglecting the city, and Muchmore was “concerned that we were getting straight answers so he asked tough questions and he got answers.” 
 
 Asked if he waited too long to declare a state of emergency, Snyder defended the state’s response. “There was some time period where we were offering filters, we were working hard to get water. All these kind of things. But not enough of it was being accepted. Now we’re to the point now where hopefully we’re fully engaged and have everyone working hard to make sure everyone in Flint has access to a water filter.” 
 
 Snyder did fault the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which repeatedly told Flint residents the water was safe to drink despite reports within the department that some Flint homes showed extremely high lead levels, for “being probably too technical in their interpretation of things or following a traditional pattern of doing things rather than stepping back to look at what else you might see in data.” 
 
 “There were issues in terms of getting appropriate answers,” Snyder tells TIME. “That was unfortunate. It would’ve been good to have that information sooner. And I am responsible for those people. I don’t deny that.” 
 
 Read more: Toxic Water Isn’t Just in Michigan 
 
 Flint has since stopped using the river for its water, but concern remains that the system’s pipes will continue to release lead. State officials are now focused on providing water filters and drinking water to Flint residents. But protesters, who marched onto the Michigan Capitol Building Thursday, say they’re going to keep the pressure on the governor, who admits that it will be a challenge to regain residents’ support. 
 
 “We are working hard to earn their trust back,” Snyder says. “I can appreciate the concerns that they have and we’re trying to work hard to show them that we really do care.” ||||| Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder apologized to the citizens of Flint, saying he would take "full responsibility" for fixing the toxic water "catastrophe" that has stricken the town. 
 
 Interested in ? Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest 
 
 "Your families face a crisis," the governor said during his State of the State address. "A crisis you did not create and could not have prevented." 
 
 Snyder called the situation a "catastrophe" that no citizen should have to endure and promised to release all of his emails from 2014 and 2015 regarding Flint to the public. 
 
 "I'm sorry I let you down," he said. "You deserve better." 
 
 Snyder outlined the immediate actions that were taken in response to the water crisis, including daily door-to-door distribution of bottled water, water filters, filter replacements and water testing kits. More than 21,000 homes have been visited by volunteers and emergency responders, he said. 
 
 The Michigan government has made budgetary recommendations for Flint to remain on Detroit's water line until the end of 2016, Snyder said. Provisions in the budget recommendation have also been made to replace water supply pipes and fixtures in Flint schools and to fund specialized staff locally in Flint for follow-up care for affected residents. 
 
 "We will provide resources to help anyone and everyone effected," Snyder said. 
 
 Carlos Osorio/AP Photo 
 
 In addition, a request has been made to Michigan legislature for immediate, short-term funding for: replacement of fixtures in schools, daycare and hospitals; treatment of children with high lead levels, including diagnostic testing, nurse visits and environmental assessments; child and adolescent health centers and additional support for children’s health care access; an infrastructure integrity study for pipes and connections, using outside experts; and providing aid to the city for utilities. 
 
 "I give you my commitment that Michigan will not let you down," Snyder said, addressing the residents of Flint after. He also promised that individuals responsible for the water crisis will be held accountable. 
 
 Earlier Tuesday, President Obama and senior White House advisor Valerie Jarrett met with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, saying that his administration will provide continued support to state and local officials. 
 
 Informative meeting with Mayor Karen Weaver from Flint, Michigan. pic.twitter.com/37mSbxPZsf — Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) January 19, 2016 
 
 On Monday, a crowd gathered outside of Snyder's downtown Ann Arbor apartment Tuesday, calling for the governor to be arrested for "poisoning" the city of Flint, the Detroit Free Press reported. 
 
 Elevated lead levels were found in the water supply in Flint after the city disconnected from Detroit's water line to save money and began drawing water from the Flint river in 2014. The move was intended to be a stop-gap measure until the pipeline to Port Huron Lake was completed for Flint's municipal water. 
 
 Improperly treated water from the Flint River allowed lead to leach from the pipes, officials said. On Saturday, President Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint after a request by Snyder on Thursday. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Anna Merod 
 
 Though Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he has taken responsibility for the Flint water crisis, he also said he received misinformation from his staff denying the problem the night before he learned about the issue. 
 
 During the Michigan Chronicle’s 11th annual Pancakes and Politics breakfast at the Detroit Athletic Club on Monday, Snyder told reporters that he received a briefing “telling me that there really isn’t a problem in Flint. That these outside experts aren’t correct,” reported the Detroit Free Press. 
 
 The next day, September 28, 2015, Snyder said he was briefed on the seriousness of the lead poisoning in Flint by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human Services. 
 
 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder drinks some water as he testifies before a House Oversight and government Reform hearing on "Examining Federal Administration of the Safe Drinking Water Act in Flint, Michigan, Part III" on Capitol Hill in Washington March 17, 2016. KEVIN LAMARQUE / Reuters 
 
 “And I get on the call, and I push them, and they tell me, ‘It looks like there is a problem,’” Snyder said at the event. “That’s the kind of thing you never want to see. And talk about being upset, I was upset.” 
 
 Nonetheless, many people have called for Snyder’s resignation, including Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Snyder also faced a tense hearing in March held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. During the House hearing, Snyder said he was misled about the water crisis for more than a year and expanded the blame. 
 
 “Let me be blunt. This was a failure of government at all levels,” he told the hearing. 
 
 Snyder added in the hearing that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality continued to claim the Flint water was safe. Snyder also said that he didn’t learn of the of the water’s contamination until October 1, 2015, which is a few days later than he stated in his most recent claim on Monday. The city started taking its water from the Flint River to save money 18 months prior to Snyder’s discovery of the lead poisoned water. 
 
 A panel task force, appointed by Snyder last fall, revealed in a report on March 21 that the state level of government was “fundamentally accountable” for the Flint crisis, because the state-appointed emergency managers and environmental regulators of the governor’s administration caused the corruption. The report added that though delayed, Snyder has helped address the crisis since by declaring a state of emergency, adding more funding for children affected by lead poisoning in Flint and providing partial reimbursement for water bills paid during the contamination period. 
 
 Snyder also released a statement on Friday, saying that a group of experts have found that the quality of water in Flint is improving. 
 
 However, tiny amounts of lead flaking off from damaged pipes are still triggering lead levels in some homes, causing the entire water system to stay “unstable,” a senior official with the Environmental Protection Agency told the Detroit Free Press.
– Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder admits he lost the public's trust in failing to respond quickly to concerns about Flint's drinking water. "I'm sorry I let you down," he said during his State of the State address on Tuesday. "Your families face a crisis—a crisis you did not create and could not have prevented," he added, per ABC News. "I'm sorry, and I will fix it." Almost two years after corrosive drinking water from the Flint River was contaminated with lead in April 2014, Snyder says he's asking legislators for $28 million to replace water supply pipes in Flint's schools, daycares, and hospitals; treat children with high lead levels; conduct environmental assessments; and more, per CNN. However, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver says the costs to fix the water issues and address health concerns could reach $1.5 billion. "We will provide resources to help anyone and everyone [affected]," Snyder said, noting he takes "full responsibility" for fixing this "catastrophe." He also vowed to release all of his emails relating to Flint from 2014 and 2015. Though some residents claim the state ignored the water issues for months, "we took action … as soon as I became aware of elevated lead levels in blood" on Oct. 1, 2015, Snyder told Time last week, noting bottled water, water filters, and water testing kits were handed out. Snyder lays blame on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which told residents the water was safe to drink, though some homes showed toxic lead levels. The department admitted it didn't get the necessary chemicals to treat the corrosive water. Residents have now filed three lawsuits at the federal, state, and municipal levels.