FLINT, MI - Lead service line removal by the city of Flint is now set to begin Friday, March 4.
A news conference has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday at a location to be determined where the first Flint resident under Mayor Karen Weaver's $55 million Fast Start program.
The city said in a statement the lead service line will be replaced by a copper line by a work crew Friday afternoon, with the mayor continuing her call "on Gov. Rick Snyder to pressure GOP leads in the Legislature to move immediately to approve $25 million for the first phase of the plan."
She's also urging the governor's support a $220 million bipartisan plan by U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, along with other lawmakers that would in part fund clean water and health initiatives across the country, including Flint.
The state previously approved $2 million in grant money Flint is using for the line replacement, estimated at around $4,000 per line under the Fast Start program, and Snyder has asked for $25 million in supplemental funding as part of the 2017 fiscal year budget for infrastructure repairs.
Weaver has said line replacement will begin at homes with those in highest risk of lead exposure -- children under 6 years old, pregnant women, senior citizens, and residents with compromised immune systems.
A research study by University of Michigan-Flint identified 4,376 lead service lines based on city records and estimated another 4,000 lines. The study also revealed the types of lines to 13,000 other parcels, including 11,000 residences, were unknown.
State officials have partnered with Flint-based Rowe Professional Services to complete a water infrastructure reliability study, replace approximately 30 service lines, and inventory all water service lines by March 16, with ah long-range asset management plan done by May 16.
The first service line replaced -- since the beginning of the water crisis months ago -- was dug up March 3 on Alma Avenue by Waldorf and Sons Excavating, but not before some confusion at the scene.
The replacement was being paid for by Flint Coalition, a group of private, charitable, business and community entities working to help the residents of the city.