Flint plots lead pipe replacement Matthew Dolan , Detroit Free Press The city
of Flint's effort to replace all of the city's lead pipes is expected to start
Friday. Mayor Karen Weaver said Thursday she will kick off her "Fast Start"
initiative intended to replace all of the lead pipes in Flint to restore safe,
clean drinking water as soon as possible. The city has been under a federal
state of emergency since January with most residents drinking bottled water
and using filters on their taps amid concerns about lead contamination. "Fast
Start is just the first step in an overall vision to restore Flint's
infrastructure
to be safe and sustainable for future generations and is only part of the
effort needed to heal and renew this community through access to health care,
children and family services, educational resources, economic revitalization
and job creation," Weaver said in a statement Thursday. On Monday, Lansing
Board of Water and Light, joined by representatives from the Michigan
Department of Environmental Equality, Rowe engineering and other local
contractors,
took part in a training demonstration on how to replace a lead service line
with a copper line, according to the mayor's office. The line was pulled from
a water main to the service box in front of a vacant house owned by the Genesee
County Land Bank. Kristin Moore, spokeswoman for the mayor, said Thursday
that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed off on Weaver's
demonstration plan. A department spokesperson did not immediately return a
request
for comment. Weaver in her announcement Thursday also reiterated her call on
Gov. Rick Snyder to pressure Republican leaders in the Legislature to move
immediately to approve $25 million for the first phase of the $55 million plan.
Snyder has said the Michigan Legislature has approved $67.4 million for
Flint and he has requested additional appropriations of $165 million . A new
copper service line and curb stop are seen after workers from Waldorf & Sons
excavating replaced the lead service line to Flint resident Brittani Felton's
home on Alma in Flint's north side on Thursday March 3, 2016. (Photo: Ryan
Garza, Detroit Free Press) On Thursday, Weaver also asked for the governor to
support the bipartisan federal plan led by Michigan U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow
and Gary Peters for $220 million in clean water and health funding. Ari Adler,
a spokesman for the governor, said Thursday that Snyder supports federal
efforts to bring aid to Flint and his $25 million state budget request for
Flint should cover the pipe replacement outlined by the mayor. The City of Flint
and contractors are working to confirm the presence of service lines to homes
made of lead or affected by lead contamination, according to the mayor. The
Fast Start initiative will targeted at homes first in neighborhoods with the
the highest lead levels in tap water as well as those with the highest number
of children under 6 years old, senior citizens, pregnant women and people with
compromised immune systems . State officials say they have been working
in coordination with city leaders to bring Flint's drinking water crisis to an
end. The Snyder Administration signed a contract with Flint-based Rowe
Professional
Services engineering firm last month to conduct an assessment study of Flint's
water system as well as an inventory of all of its water lines. At the same
time, Rowe is supposed to complete the replacement of lead lines at 30 sites
before March 15. But the mayor and the governor have spoken about different
strategies when it comes to pipe replacement. Weaver has endorsed replacing all
of the city's lead pipes starting immediately while Snyder has pushed for
assessing the makeup and condition of the water system before deciding how much
of the lead piping to replace and when. Snyder has sent a supplemental
budget request to the Legislature, including $25 million to be used for water
infrastructure, like pipe replacement in Flint. The governor said that other
resources could be tapped for additional funds to replace pipes if needed.
Separately, the state Department of Environmental Quality, with the federal
Environmental Protection Agency, launched a new testing project for Flint's
drinking water supply at hundreds of sites around the city in an effort to
see whether the city's switch back to a Detroit water supply has reduced lead
levels. Flint's switch to using the Flint River as its water supply in April
2014 was followed almost immediately by complaints from residents about
discolored, pungent water that had caused a number of ailments. Local and state
officials insisted for months the water was safe to drink but reversed course
after independent testing discovered unsafe lead levels throughout the system
believed to be caused by leaching from lead piping. Some in the city are
getting frustrated by the lack of progress in the city to replace lead pipes and
are taking the matter into their own hands. A group of volunteers raised funds
to replace the lead pipes at Brittani Felton's home in northeast Flint on
Thursday. But city police came out to the site and temporarily stopped worked
and checked the permits. Matt Helmer, sales manager at contractor Waldorf
and Sons, said the work continued Thursday afternoon after police gave the
green light. "It's been very frustrating," said Felton, a 29-year-old single
mother to a 7- and 10-year-old. "It's been a year and 10 months since this all
started and there is no reason we should have to wait. And we're paying
for water we can't drink. Contact Matthew Dolan: 313-223-4743 or
msdolan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. Follow him on Twitter @matthewsdolan.
