(Reuters) – The U.S. state of Michigan has reached a settlement to pay about $600 million to victims of the Flint water crisis, three newspapers said late on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
The settlement will be announced this week, the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal said.
Most of the amount will be allocated for children who suffered from lead-tainted tapwater after officials switched the city’s water supply six years ago, they added.
About 80% is to go to residents younger than 18 between April 25, 2014 and July 31, 2016, the Wall Street Journal said, estimating the number of such claims between 7,500 and 20,000.
The rest will go to plaintiffs in other types of lawsuits, such as those for property damage and loss of revenue.
The settlement is subject to approval by a federal judge in Michigan, the New York Times said.
The Washington Post said the plaintiffs’ lawyers reached a deal last week with Michigan lawyers on behalf of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In January, the Supreme Court let Flint residents pursue a civil rights lawsuit accusing the city and government officials of knowingly allowing the water supply to become contaminated with lead.
Flint switched its public water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River to cut costs during a financial crisis. But the corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes, and the city switched back to Lake Huron water the following year.
More than 25,000 people were harmed through exposure to contaminants in Flint, including more than 5,000 children younger than 12, court records showed as of January.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
