Flint mayor: $55 million needed to replace pipes

The mayor of Flint, Michigan, which is struggling to cope with risky levels of lead in its drinking water, said on Tuesday the city would replace all residents’ pipes and was counting on state and federal help to foot the estimated $55 million bill.

The plan, which will take effect in the next month and will be free for homeowners, will replace approximately 15,000 contaminated service lines that have been running water laced with lead into local homes. The plan would target homes but not schools, businesses or other nonresidential sites. “They said that Bey wanted to talk to me, and then she explained exactly what she wanted me to do on the song”.

Federal regulators say MI officials ignored the EPA’s advice to treat Flint water for corrosion-causing elements past year and delayed for months before telling the public about the health risks.

Mayor Weaver said she does not want to wait on Gov. Synder and she’s asking for his support.

Many people say they’ll believe it when they see it and until then, this is their life driving back and forth every day for bottled water. Snyder said the city must have a decent school district to continue its recovery after emerging from the largest public bankruptcy in USA history.

“We are now designing an optimization plan with the engineering firm that will be presented to the DEQ and upon approval we expect to have it implemented by January 2016”, Croft wrote, adding that according to the DEQ, some cities have taken years to devise such a plan.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Flint Democrat, said Snyder’s priorities for Flint “seem to match the areas we have been stressing for some time — health, education and infrastructure”. This suit marks the first individual case on behalf of Flint residents, though it is one of a number that has been brought against MI officials in recent weeks. Regulators failed to ensure the new water was treated properly and lead from pipes leached into the water supply, contributing to a spike in child lead exposure.

“I can not imagine that he would not support this plan”. Only $20 million of the amount is designated for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that could be used to replace lead service lines.

Criminal charges or civil actions could result from the Flint water crisis, says Todd Flood, special counsel for the state attorney general’s office investigation, The Detroit News reports.

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama proposed increasing federal spending next year for a state drinking water infrastructure fund by $157 million, an 18 percent increase over last year, to assist with projects in communities affected by water contamination such as Flint.

“In order for Flint residents to once again have confidence and trust in the water coming from their faucets, all lead pipes in the city of Flint need to be replaced”, Weaver said during a morning press conference in the front lobby of City Hall.

“I’d like to do about 100 immediately to give us some good data”, McDaniel said. McAlpine claims that those handling Flint’s water management were advised in November 2014 of a need to correct high trihalomethane levels in the Flint water supply.