FLINT, MI -- There are roughly about 2,500 lead service lines left to replace in Flint.
The homes are included in the first group of Flint addresses to be checked by contractors based on their chances of having lead or steel pipes. All the remaining homes in Flint will have their pipes dug up and checked this year, so more lead or steel service lines could be discovered. But the majority of lead pipes are expected to be in the first digs.
The number was announced by researchers, lawyers and community activists at a Facebook live-streamed forum updating Flint residents on the FAST Start pipe replacement program on April 11. The forum was held in Detroit at the ACLU of Michigan office.
“We decided to do a Facebook-Live event because it would be the best way of reaching the most amount of people,” said Michael Steinberg of ACLU of Michigan. “It’s just the first of many efforts and outreach that we’re taking, including meeting with people in the city of Flint and townhalls in the city of Flint.”
The panelists were plaintiffs in a $97 million settlement funding pipe replacements and Eric Schwartz, a University of Michigan researcher who developed a computer model that finds homes with lead.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly just how many homes have lead service lines, but it looks like we’re expecting roughly 2,500 homes out of the first group,” Schwartz said.
The first group will consist of roughly 4,000 homes with the highest chance of having lead service lines, according to the computer model Schwartz and his colleague Jacob Abernathy developed.
As of March, FAST Start has checked more than 21,000 homes and replaced about 8,000 lead or galvanized service lines, said National Resources Defense Council attorney Sarah Tallman.
During the first year and half of the settlement, FAST Start was finding lead at 70 percent of homes they dug at. Last year, after stopping the use of the computer model, the rate for finding lead dropped to 15 percent, Tallman said.
“Which means it was digging up and reburying copper service lines,” Tallman said. “We were concerned about this because we’re focused on finding and removing lead service lines as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”
The NRDC began working with city, and on March 26 U.S. District Judge David Lawson signed an order that requires Flint to first focus its excavation efforts at homes most likely to have lead.
“There are about 7,000 homes in Flint that haven’t had their service lines dug up,” NRDC attorney Dimple Chaudhary said. "This year, the city must first dig at the homes that are more likely to have lead and steel lines. The city will then dig up the service lines at the remaining homes in Flint.”
Flint homes are currently excavated using the computer models predictions by contractors who still have money left over in their Phase 5 contracts, attorneys said. The success rate for finding and replacing lead lines this year has already increased, Schwartz said.
“The only way to know with certainty is with digging,” Schwartz said. “Anything short of that, we’re just doing our best using all the information that is available to give a best guess.”
In a few weeks, residents will be provided a link to a map where they can look up their addressees and see the status of their service lines. The map will tell residents whether their homes have been checked, what materials their lines are made up of or how likely it is their lines are made of lead or steel.
The first and second groups of homes FAST Start will check haven’t been finalized, Tallman said, but will be available in a few weeks.
“Even if your home isn’t in the first group of homes that’s selected, it will be dug up and your service lines will be checked by the end of the year,” said Melissa Mays, a Flint activist of WATER You Fighting For.
If a resident’s service lines have been replaced, contractors are required to provide and install water filters inside the home, Chaudray said. Contractors are also required to make sure resident’s filters are working if they’ve already been installed.
“Health experts recommend using a filter for at least six months,” Chaudray said. “This is because of the construction process associated with replacements, lead can be dislodge and be flushed into your pipes and taps for at least six months.”
Mayor Karen Weaver is determined to remove all the lead from Flint, Allen Overton of the Concerned Pastors for Social Change, a plaintiff in the settlement, said.
“The mayor is committed to digging those lines up and getting a good look of what’s under the ground,” Overton said.
Residents who have questions about the service line replacement process in Flint are encouraged to call FAST Start or email flintpiperemoval@gmail.com.
“We’ve heard from residents they’re having trouble with the FAST Start number and getting a prompt response to their calls,” Chaudray said. “We’ve raised that with the city and we’re hopeful with the new engineering firm there will be a better process in place to answer those questions in a timely way.”
ROWE Professional Services was contracted for $2.1 million to oversee FAST Start’s service line replacement in 2019. The engineering firm was contracted by the state for the initial pilot phase of FAST Start in 2016 and managed pipe replacements at 33 homes for half-a-million-dollars.
“With our corporate headquarters in Flint, we have the capacity and staff to complete the work,” ROWE Vice President and Principal Rick Freeman previously said. “We have a vested interest in Flint and anytime we can work within our community that is always a goal of ours.”
Flint City Council voted 5-1 on Monday, April 8 to hire Lang Constructors for $5.2 million and WT Stevens for $5.6 million to replace the remaining service lines by July 31.