A US judge ordered the top health official in the state of Michigan to to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter charges in two deaths linked to the Flint water crisis.

"It's a long way from over," said Nick Lyon, director of Michigan's Health and Human Services Department.  He's now the highest-ranking state official charged in an investigation led by the attorney general's office, specifically in the deaths of Robert Skidmore and John Snyder in 2015.

The problem began in 2014 when Michigan's Republican-controlled state government ordered the water supply for the decrepit, fallen industrial town of Flint to be switched from the relatively clean water from the Great Lakes to the caustic, heavily polluted Flint River.  It wasn't treated to reduce corrosion.  As a result, lead leached from old pipes and is poisoning people, exposing thousands of young children to cumulative lead poisoning. 

But that was only the beginning.  The poisoned water interfered with disinfectants, released iron and other bacterial nutrients, and promoted the growth of Legionella bacteria.  The tainted water contributed to at least 12 deaths.

Involuntary manslaughter is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.  Lyon is also charged with felony misconduct in office for allegedly obstructing academic researchers from studying the outbreak, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Last, he faces a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect in office.