Flint mayor vows to replace lead pipes, seeks help with $55M tab
US News
Flint mayor vows to replace lead pipes, seeks help with $55M tab
The mayor of Flint, Michigan, the city struggling to cope with dangerous 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. In 2014, Flint switched its source of water from Detroit’s municipal system to the Flint River to save money. The more corrosive water from the river leached more lead from the city pipes than Detroit water did. Mayor Karen Weaver also called for the replacement of 15,000 lead pipes.
We have been emotionally traumatized and we need new pipes. … That’s the only way the community is going to have confidence in what’s going on.
Mayor Karen Weaver
Flint switched back to Detroit water in October after tests found high levels of lead in samples of children’s blood, sparking a national controversy and prompting several lawsuits by parents. The state has also launched an investigation to see whether any of the officials who signed off on the change acted criminally. Gov. Rick Snyder, who is facing calls to resign over his handling of the crisis, has declined requests to testify before a congressional panel investigating the scandal. Snyder has not yet supported calls to immediately begin replacing the pipes, saying the short-term solution is to restore a protective coating that stops the corrosion.
We will never be confident that the biofilm has built back on. That’s a tough one for us.
Karen Weaver
