WASHINGTON — A lead-contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan represents “a failure of government at all levels,” but the main culprit is a state agency he oversees, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality repeatedly assured him and other officials that water from the Flint River was safe, when in reality it had dangerous levels of lead, the governor says.

In prepared testimony for a House hearing Thursday, Snyder says he did not learn until Oct. 1, 2015 that Flint’s water was contaminated – nearly 18 months after the city began drawing its water from the Flint River in April 2014.

Snyder said he took immediate action, reconnecting the city with Detroit’s water supply and distributing water filters and testing residents – especially children – for elevated lead levels.

A state investigation has “uncovered systemic failures at the Michigan DEQ,” Snyder says. “The fact is, bureaucrats created a culture that valued technical compliance over common sense – and the result was that lead was leaching into residents’ water.”

The state has approved $67 million in emergency spending, with a request for $165 million more, Snyder said in prepared testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy also faulted state officials for the crisis, which occurred when Flint switched from the Detroit system and began drawing from the Flint River to save money. The impoverished city was under state management at the time.

“The crisis we’re seeing was the result of a state-appointed emergency manager deciding that the city would stop purchasing treated drinking water and instead switch to an untreated source to save money,” McCarthy says in prepared testimony for the House hearing.

“The state of Michigan approved that decision, and did so without requiring corrosion control treatment,” McCarthy said. “Without corrosion control, lead from pipes, fittings and fixtures can leach into the drinking water. These decisions resulted in Flint residents being exposed to dangerously high levels of lead.”

Thursday’s hearing is the second of two Flint-related sessions the oversight panel is conducting this week.