NEW YORK — Michigan’s contestant in this year’s Miss America competition used her platform at the pageant to highlight the ongoing water crisis in Flint — drawing praise on social media.

“From the state with 84 percent of the U.S. fresh water but none for its residents to drink, I am Miss Michigan Emily Sioma,” said Sioma, who is from Grass Lake, Mich., during Sunday night’s competition.

The pointed statement was a reference to the lead-contaminated water that started flowing into Flint residents’ homes in the spring of 2014 after officials switched the impoverished city’s water source to the Flint River to save money, but didn’t treat the river to reduce corrosion.

The result was a man-made health crisis: young children suffered dangerously high lead levels. Experts also suspect a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that affected at least 90 people and killed 12 occurred because of the switch.

More than a dozen state and local officials have been charged with crimes as a result of the water crisis.

Sioma’s pageant introduction lit up Twitter, where viewers called her a “badass woman” and commended her for being so “bold” during the pageant, which is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and aired live nationally.

“Miss Michigan using her ten second intro to speak on flints water crisis instead of herself is truly using her platform for her state,” one person wrote.

“Miss Michigan needs to win the 2019 Miss America Pageant simply for stating there still isn’t any clean water during her introduction!” tweeted another.

Flint received tainted water for at least 18 months, but efforts to reduce the lead in the city’s drinking water have been ongoing. In April, Michigan’s governor announced the statewould stop providing free bottled water to Flint, prompting outrage among residents, many of whom don’t trust that tap water has returned to safe drinking levels.