The City of Flint 2019 Annual Water Quality Report was mailed to Flint residents from Flint City Hall, indicating a reporting requirement had not been met for the city of Flint, and a violation had been issued to the city for not collecting the required 60 lead and copper tests. Mayor Sheldon Neeley talked to the Flint Courier News about water testing and the Flint Water Crisis.
The report read: We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not our drinking water meets health standards. During the July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 monitoring period, we did not obtain the requisite number of samples and have them tested for lead and copper. Even though we collected lead and copper samples from 123 sites, only 49 were acceptable for compliance.
Residents were told there was nothing they need to do at this time. However, it was recommended that as a precaution filters be used on faucets, which the report said are available free of charge at the Flint City Hall kiosk from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The report stated this is not an emergency, but said customers have a right to know what happened and what was done to attempt to correct the situation.
The federally mandated reporting date was January 10, 2020 for the six month period ending December 31, 2019. The city requested an extension to complete and submit their Lead and Copper Report to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) on December 27, 2019. Additional samples were taken in the period between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020. The city was able to collect samples from 123 sites and submitted their Lead and Copper Report to EGLE on February 12, 2020 and 163 total as of July 14. Only 49 Tier 1 sites were validated for compliance. At least 60 of those samples were to be valid to meet state and federal testing guidelines. Three of the samples were found to have a concentration of lead above the level which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow. The likely source was said to be corrosion of household plumbing erosion of natural deposits. It will take several weeks for a final determination of how many of the new samples meet all the testing requirements.
Here’s what Mayor Neeley had to say about the situation and the Flint Water Crisis in general in an interview with the Flint Courier News for our blog project about the water crisis:
“As a resident of the city of Flint, I am impacted at home by the Flint Water Crisis in the exact same way as all residents,” Neeley said. “We all bear the scars of this gross injustice and I remain hopeful that those responsible will be held criminally responsible for both their actions and their failure to act. I also am frustrated that so many projects designed to repair our infrastructure languished with inactivity for so long under the previous administration.”
Neeley said he regards the $100 million service line replacement project as by far the most recognizable of the city’s water recovery efforts.
“I am happy to say that we are now about 90% complete, and, after being shut down for several months as part of the state response to COVID-19, work has resumed to complete the project,” Neeley said. “The city of Flint has excavated service lines at more than 25,600 homes. Lead or galvanized steel pipes were found and replaced at approximately 9,600 of those residences. When we are done, the service line replacement project will have checked (and replaced when necessary) all possible residential service lines in the city of Flint.”
Under the current administration, construction has begun to create a secondary water source, capacity of water reservoirs was increased and the chemical feed building was upgraded.
“We are doing the work needed to repair our infrastructure. We are building a new, more transparent city hall that engages residents and respects their concerns….Few Flint homes still have lead service lines-and even those that do are showing their water quality levels are as good or better than other communities nationwide.”
The 90th percentile testing showed 4 parts per billion or micrograms per liter (ppb). The federal action level is 15 ppb.
Still, Neeley said he uses filtered tap water.
“I do drink water and coffee at restaurants and elsewhere in the city. The water crisis is not over. We still have a lot of work to do. I hope through our hard work, this administration can begin to earn back some of that trust and move our community forward.”
Anyone with questions about the City of Flint 2019 Annual Water Quality Report or other water related concerns is advised to contact the City of Flint Water Treatment Plant at 810-787-6537.
