FLINT, MI — Crews are expected to restart service line replacements in Flint Wednesday, April 18 — a job that comes with a new sense of urgency in 2018.
Eight days after the supply of state-funded bottled water ran out in the city, the Flint Action and Sustainability Team was scheduled to start work on Calumet Avenue, according to a news release from the city.
The massive underground construction program aims to have contract teams remove and replace at least 6,000 lead and galvanized service lines this construction season, pipes that the city says were damaged during its water crisis and remain dangerous potential sources of lead contamination.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver has argued that the work, which is expected to continue into 2019, carries with it the potential for new releases of particle lead due to the underground disturbance — one of the arguments she’s used in asking Gov.
Rick Snyder to reverse his decision to end bottled water deliveries.
"They said the (water points of distribution) would stay open until (service line removals were complete), and yet again they have backed off of their word and what they said they would do," Weaver said in a statement released by the city earlier this week.
"This is exactly why the people’s trust has not been restored."
Lead and galvanized service line replacement is one of several water-related projects being overseen in Flint by AECOM , an international engineering company hired by the city.
City, state and federal officials have advised water customers to continue to use faucet filters to protect them from lead during service line replacement.
Service lines in the city were damaged by corrosive river water, used for 17 months while the city was under state oversight during parts of 2014 and 2015.