Flint paid highest water bills in 2015

State Representative Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) also called for money to start work now on digging up and replacing lead pipes.

Governor Rick Snyder announcing Thursday the grant money is coming from the state’s distressed cities fund.

Weaver said in a news release that she is working with water infrastructure experts from the Lansing Board of Water & Light to train local Flint workers on lead pipe removal at a vacant property in Flint owned by the Genesee County Land Bank.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver has been vocal in her assertions that the replacement phase needs to happen immediately.

Great Lakes Water Authority Chief Operating Officer Sue McCormick authored a letter, sent February 11, intended for leaders in each of the communities which receive their drinking water from the newly formed consortium.

There are an estimated 10,000 service lines in the city, but it’s unclear how many are lead, and where those lead lines are. Officials in the Snyder Administration have said that they hope to restore drinking water to the city in stages, with a full assessment of the system completed by mid-April.

“We explain how our system works and who we’re connected to and that usually alleviates any concern”, he said. As a result lead, a neurotoxin, and other contaminants seeped into the water through the pipes. It would not cover the entirety of the charges for the foul and undrinkable water, but 65 percent for residential customers and 20 percent for businesses.

Flint’s tap water is contaminated with lead because the city for 18 months used water from the Flint River without reducing corrosiveness. In earlier committee meetings and in the Senate, Democrats offered amendments to double the figure to $60 million. This is the first time Snyder has addressed the issue of who is to blame for Flint’s water crisis.

But now, a recent study also found they were paying higher rates for that lead-filled water than anyone else in the United States. This is the second step to know what you’re dealing with in terms of underground infrastructure and how best to approach it. The third step is this replacement of pipes.

Flint has 44 employees running its water treatment plant and services center although 63 are needed for effective operations, EPA said.

Meanwhile, Michael Pitt, also an attorney litigating these cases, believes their solid legal argument – that Snyder and several state officials violated the due process rights of Flint residents – makes the immunity issue moot.