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On Sixth Anniversary Of Flint Water Crisis, Flint Still Has No Backup Water Source

Flint, MI–On the sixth anniversary of the Flint water crisis, Flint is again in the midst of a crisis.

Six years after the disastrous switch to the Flint River as a source of drinking water for the city, which led to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease and toxic levels of lead leaching into the water, the city remains in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act for not having a reliable secondary drinking water source.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley sent a stern message to Flint city council Monday to, “finish the job,” referring to the 21-inch diameter, five-and-a-half-mile pipe, that would connect Genesee County’s water system to Flint. The pipe would ensure that should the current system, which pulls Lake Huron water via Detroit, fail, Flint would have a readily available source of water.

As of now, the only backup source the city has are water reservoirs, which would only supply residents with drinkable water for a matter of days. If anything, such as a major line break or any other unpredictable event that could compromise the city’s water, it’s unclear where Flint would go next once the reservoirs run dry. “The results could be catastrophic,” Neeley said.

The city, per federal law, must have a secondary source of water. The proposed project would be paid for by an Obama era bill, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. The act authorized $100 million in funding for “Flint, Mich., to recover from the lead contamination in its drinking water system.” According to the EPA, $87 million of that money has not been spent.

The proposed backup system was due to be completed in December of 2019 at a cost of $14.7 million in federal funds. On Monday, the council again voted 4 to 4 delaying construction.  A majority vote of six would be needed from the nine-person council to reconsider the contract before they could revisit the project.