FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 21, 2016

Contact:
Kristin Moore
kmoore@cityofflint.com

Next Phase of Mayors Fast Start Plan to Begin Monday

FLINT, Mich. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver announced today that crews working to get the lead out of
Flint have identified the remaining 29 homes where service lines will be replaced by the end of the
month as part of the mayors Fast Start program.
This is a significant development, Mayor Weaver said. There was a lot that had to be done before the
digging could start. Now that the homes have been identified and the permits are secured, crews can
get to work replacing more pipes.
The first lead service line in Flint replaced under Fast Start on March 4th, when a new copper line was
installed leading to the home of a couple expecting a child in May. Moving forward, crews are expected
to replace lines at two houses a day through the end of March (weather permitting). Lead service lines
leading to homes at 2407 and 2419 Welch Boulevard on the citys west side will be replaced Monday.
The goal of Mayor Weavers Fast Start initiative is to replace all lead-tainted service lines in the city, with
an initial estimate that 15,000 lines will need to be replaced. The project will now include the removal of
service lines made of lead and galvanized steel, as both types appear to be contributing to the lead
contamination in Flints water supply. Mayor Weaver has put the preliminary cost for the plan at $55
million.
Mayor Weaver launched the Fast Start initiative in February with a pledge to restore Flint residents
faith in the citys water supply by removing pipes contributing to dangerously high lead levels shown in
water test results. A state-appointed emergency manager switched the citys water source in 2014 to
the Flint River without needed corrosion control chemicals being added. The corrosive water removed a
protective coating on the inside of the pipes, causing lead to leach into the water flowing to businesses
and homes.
I want to say again that I am totally resolved to get the lead out of Flint by removing these lead-tainted
pipes leading to peoples homes. But we cant stop there, said Mayor Weaver. Nothing less than a
complete renewal of Flints water system is needed, as well as enough money to provide health,
education, economic and family services to the children and adults in Flint affected by the water crisis.
We need the state and federal government to provide these badly needed funds.

Retired National Guard Brigadier General Michael McDaniel, who also is a professor of law at Western
Michigan University Cooley Law School, was appointed last month by Mayor Weaver to lead the Flint
Action and Sustainability Team (FAST), which will coordinate Fast Start activities between the City of
Flint, state and federal departments and agencies, and other stakeholders.
McDaniel said the first 30 homes selected for pipe replacements were chosen based on three factors:

High lead in residential water sampling based on data from Virginia Tech and the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ);
Homes located in neighborhoods with a high population of children and elderly residents, based
on modeling by the University of Michigan-Flint;
Geographically dispersed locations across the city, to assure the greatest amount of information
including age of construction of homes, age of city mains, and age of water in the mains
can be gained.

Engineering teams have spent the past week notifying homeowners of the scheduled work, obtaining
their concurrence, notifying MISS DIG and other agencies, coordinating water sampling of the homes
(which will also be done before and after each pipe is replaced), and confirming the composition of the
pipes, McDaniel said. Neighbors also are being notified, so they are aware they may see some changes
in their water when the work is done, and they may need to run the water for a short period of time to
flush the pipes.
This is a complicated process. But were determined to get pipes replaced to 30 homes by March 31,
and to continue the work from there, McDaniel said. Fast Start is an ambitious initiative, but the
residents and business owners in Flint deserve to know everything possible is being done to make their
water free of lead.
Its important to note, not all pipe replacements in Flint will be part of the Fast Start initiative. Crews
working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MDEQ and community groups may be replacing
service lines as well. This is allowed, as long as the procedures set in place by the city are followed.
On Thursday, Mayor Weaver called on the U.S. Congress and the Michigan Legislature to provide the
funding necessary to fix Flints contaminated drinking water infrastructure and address the health needs
of the children and families of Flint who must use bottled water every day for drinking, bathing and
cooking because of the ongoing crisis.
A $220 million federal package has been put together by Michigan Reps. Debbie Stabenow and Gary
Peters with senior Republican support. Flint is awaiting action by the Michigan Legislature on
appropriation of $127 million for water infrastructure, health resources, children and family services,
and economic renewal through supplemental budget bills that are still being debated.
In the meantime, the Fast Start program will continue with the help of a union owned asset manager,
Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO), which pledged on March 6 to bring $25 million in lowcost loans to Flint to help remove the lead-tainted pipes. The loans will serve as a bridge source of
capital until funding from the State of Michigan and federal government is secured. The ULLICO loans
put into action a commitment made by labor and union pensions at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to
create a national fund to invest in infrastructure in cities across America.
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