Now an update on the water crisis in Flint, Mich. A federal court has approved a settlement of a significant lawsuit over the lead-tainted water in that city.
The deal doesn’t put money in people’s pockets, but it should help heal the city’s broken water system.
STEVE CARMODY, BYLINE: Flint officials have planned for months now to replace 18,000 lead and galvanized service lines over the next three years.
CARMODY: Under the settlement, Michigan will set aside $97 million to replace the pipes that are a primary source of lead in Flint’s drinking water.
She’s not impressed by the settlement.
CARMODY: Other people here are upset that the deal will allow the state to end bottled water distribution in Flint if lead levels trend below federal limits.
For more than a year, city residents have gone to distribution centers scattered around the city to pick up cases of bottled water and filters.
But few here trust anything the state says, though they may soon have to pay for bottled water themselves.
Michael Steinberg is the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
For NPR News, I’m Steve Carmody in Flint.