Flint residents who have spent the past decade fighting to fix their city’s water system did something Tuesday they haven’t done often: celebrate.
In a church hall, dozens of people gathered to celebrate the near-completion of efforts to replace all of the city’s lead service lines. Service lines are the pipes that connect homes and businesses to city water mains.
The service lines were the main source for the lead in Flint’s drinking water after the ill-fated decision to switch the city’s drinking water source to the Flint River. Improperly treated river water damaged pipes, releasing lead and other contaminants into Flint’s drinking water.
Replacing the lead service lines has been a principal goal for Flint activists. With the help of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a coalition of local pastors and activists convinced a federal judge to order government agencies to replace the lead pipes. The order remains in place as the city winds down the pipe replacement program.
Pastor Allen Overton said the job is nearly complete. Nearly.
“They know where the lead lines are,” said Overton, “It’s my hope that they will continue to encouraging those homeowners to consent to allow to take those lead lines out.”
To date, roughly 11,000 lead service lines have been replaced. Roughly 97% of the city’s service lines have been inspected to determine if they are lead, galvanized steel or copper.
Melissa Mays has been a leading activist fighting to fix Flint’s broken drinking water system. She said the fight will continue.
“We haven’t given up thus far, and we’re not going to,” said Mays.
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it’s lifting a 2016 emergency order on Flint’s water system, put in place near the height of the city’s lead tainted drinking water crisis.
