WASHINGTON — A federal watchdog is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its oversight of state drinking water systems nationally and respond more quickly to public health emergencies such as the lead-in-the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

In a 74-page report released Thursday, the EPA’s inspector general report pointed to “oversight lapses” at the federal, state and local levels in the response to Flint’s contaminated drinking water.

The finding comes as the Trump administration seeks to cut the EPA’s budget, including some drinking-water programs. The EPA said in a statement it agrees with the inspector general’s recommendations and is adopting them “expeditiously.”

Flint’s tap water became contaminated in 2014 after officials switched from the Detroit system to the Flint River to save money, exposing many residents to lead, a potent neurotoxin. Children are particularly vulnerable, and the EPA says there is no safe level of lead.

The switch to the Flint River was to be temporary, until the city could connect to a planned regional pipeline from Lake Huron. At that time, the impoverished majority-black city of nearly 100,000 residents was under control of an emergency financial manager appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

After tests showed high levels of lead in a home in April 2015, Miguel Del Toral, a water regulations official in EPA’s Chicago office, contacted officials with Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Del Toral also alerted superiors at EPA who decided not to make the information public, instead prodding the state agency to act behind the scenes. After a draft of Del Toral’s report was leaked, EPA’s regional administrator apologized to the city.

State officials finally acknowledged the lead contamination in September 2015 after doctors reported high levels of lead in Flint children’s blood and Virginia Tech University researchers said their testing of Flint water samples found some with lead levels meeting EPA’s definition of “toxic waste.”

Snyder ordered the National Guard to distribute bottled water and filters, requested federal aid and eventually accepted the resignation of his top environmental official. Flint returned to the Detroit water system.

Snyder ended water distribution in Flint last April, saying water quality had improved significantly.

The state environmental agency this week said tests during the latest six-month monitoring showed lead levels were beneath the action threshold and better than those of some other Michigan cities.