Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Benton Harbor in county Berrien on Tuesday where she met with residents and local leaders who have been urged to use bottled water due to high levels of lead in their tap water. Benton Harbor, a predominantly black, mostly low-income community of 9,700, is in southwestern Michigan, 100 miles from Chicago. Lead levels in water have exceeded the federal threshold of 15 parts per billion for three years, and the state subsequently issued a recommendation on Oct. 6 encouraging residents to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing foods, and mixing powdered infant formula. The exact reason for the high levels of lead contamination is unknown, but some experts believe a drop in water volume due to fewer customers may have contributed. Michigan Human Department of Health and Human Services said in its recommendation that it had already delivered more than 4,500 cases of bottled water to the city of Benton …