The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has given Flint permission to build an approximately three mile section of water pipeline to link the city to the new Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline to Lake Huron.
The Flint segment of pipeline will supply raw lake water from the KWA pipeline to Flint's water treatment plant.
According to Bryce Feighner, chief of the MDEQ's Office of Drinking Water and Radiological Protection, this is an important step for Flint.
"This will allow the city to receive raw water from the KWA to do the performance monitoring and performance testing of the water treatment plant," Feighner said.
The Environmental Protection Agency has required Flint to show it can properly treat the raw water for at least three months to demonstrate it can ensure safe drinking water. Otherwise the EPA won't allow Flint to switch from its current Detroit water source to the KWA.
