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Tougher testing, new pipes: Snyder’s proposals for new MI lead standards

City of Flint water tower
Ben Gordon
/
flickr creative commons

Flint isn’t the only city that could see massive lead service line replacement if the state officials have their way. The big question is who will foot the bill for a massive water infrastructure overhaul. We talk to Garret Ellison, environmental reporter for MLive.

Flint is slowly making progress on replacing lead service lines, and the city is coating the pipes with anti-corrosives to prevent more lead from leaching into the water.

While the Flint crisis is far from over, residents there are getting closer to having clean tap water again, but Flint isn’t the only Michigan city with lead service lines tied into its water infrastructure. And state officials say that replacing lead pipes across the state could go a long way in preventing another public health catastrophe.

On Friday, Governor Rick Snyder endorsed a plan that would toughen lead test rules and require all lead service lines in the state to be replaced within the next 10 years, but exactly how that would happen and what it would cost are still unknown.

Current State speaks with Garret Ellison, an environmental and Great Lakes reporter for MLive.

This segment is supported by Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. More news about the Great Lakes environment can be found at GreatLakesEcho.org and on Current State every Tuesday as part of our partnership.

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