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12 WBOY
Jake Ostrove Read the full article. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The corrective action plan laid out by the Clarksburg Water Board was recently approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The plan went to combat the lead pipes throughout the city. Over the past few months, the board had been in contact with the EPA in Philadelphia with video conferences biweekly. Together, they created a map of Clarksburg with every known pipe identified and rated them based on if work needed to be done. Water board president Paul Howe said that a map like the one the city has now is the first of its kind and will help the city to expedite the process in Clarksburg’s crisis, while also helping other municipalities in West Virginia that might need similar assistance down the line. Getting the lead out: Benton Harbor mayor happy as work begins to replace aging city water pipes11/16/2021
The Final Call
Stacy M. Brown Read the full article. The first small steps toward progress arrived in Benton Harbor, Mich., as replacements of lead contaminated water lines is now underway. Much to the relief of frustrated and concerned residents of the small majority Black city and its dedicated mayor Marcus Muhammad, there is now movement in the goal of replacing all impacted pipes within the next 18 months. It’s an aggressive timeline, but Mayor Muhammad is determined to work with and keep pressure on city, state and federal officials and partner with agencies, to ensure his hometown has clean and safe drinking water. The mayor, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and Congressman Fred Upton, a Republican whose 6th District includes Benton Harbor, were on site Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 as the first pipes were replaced by a local Black-owned construction company tasked with working on the first 100 homes and filling 300 potholes around the city. MLive
Chloe Miller Read the full article. JACKSON, MI – Jackson officials will use some of their federal COVID-19 relief funds to replace some lead water service lines in the city. The Jackson City Council voted unanimously at its Tuesday, Nov. 9 meeting to allocate about $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to replace roughly 400 lead water service lines in the city. Lead line replacements are part of the state’s Lead and Copper Rule, enacted after the Flint water crisis. It requires municipalities to replace 5% of their lead service lines starting this year. WCPO 9
Lucy May Read the full article. CINCINNATI — Venus Kent knew she had plenty of work ahead of her when she bought her first house, a $10,000 fixer-upper in Camp Washington. “The house had sat vacant for at least seven years before I bought it,” she said. “And it had been ransacked, stripped of all metals. Anything that they think is valuable. Including the water meter.” When Kent called Greater Cincinnati Water Works, or GCWW, to get a replacement meter, she discovered the house would need even more fixing than she anticipated. The missing meter was considered a disturbance in the line. And because GCWW knew the service line carrying water into the house was made of lead, that disturbance meant Kent had to replace it. C&G News
Kristyne E. Demske Read the full article. ST. CLAIR SHORES — Despite the fact that the state only ordered St. Clair Shores to replace 7% of the original 656 residences thought to have lead service lines per year in 2019, the city has replaced more than 400 since that time, mostly in 2021. “There still are a number, probably a few hundred homes, that we still want to verify just to make sure that they’re not lead,” said Department of Public Works Director Bryan Babcock. “We want to make sure that we’re getting all the lead out.” The city first determined that about 2.5% of its service lines might contain lead when testing showed elevated lead levels in 2019. St. Clair Shores city officials were able to make contact with the owners of 408 homes, where the lead service lines have now been replaced. Babcock said there are still about 55 homes that they believe to have lead or galvanized service lines that need to be replaced, and the department has made appointments for the city’s contractor to come in and replace about half of those. 'Pipe One is Done': Benton Harbor begins the process of replacing thousands of lead water lines11/8/2021
Fox 17 News
Michael Martin Read the full article. BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — The process of replacing thousands of lead water lines in the city of Benton Harbor has begun, as the first lead line was removed and replaced with a copper line Monday afternoon. Governor Gretchen Whitmer committed in October to having all of the lead lines in the city within the next 18 months, after a swell of efforts from activists on the ground over the past several years. A group of community activists, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council, submitted an emergency petition with the EPA in September, asking the federal agency to push state and local officials in Michigan to act on the situation in Benton Harbor. AP News
David Porter Read the full article. NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — On a recent sun-drenched morning, the staccato rhythms of a jackhammer ricocheted off buildings as a work crew dug into a Newark street to remove an aging pipe that carried water — and potentially a poison — to a small apartment building. The new pipe is copper. The old one was lined with lead, which can be harmful to human health even at minute levels. The water service line was one of more than 20,000 made with the toxic metal the city began replacing in 2019 amid public outrage over revelations about high lead levels in the tap water in schools and homes across the city. Fox 17 News
Read the full article. BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Work to replace lead service lines in Benton Harbor will begin next week, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The state health department says it’s part of an “across-the-board effort” to minimize the amount of lead in the city’s drinking water. We’re told the project is being funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. MLive
Caitlyn French Read the full article. BAY CITY, MI - Bay City is using a portion of federal funding on its lead line replacement project. City officials approved a $2 million allocation to the city’s water fund to boost the city’s ongoing lead line replacement project during the regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 1. The money will come from the $31,076,578 allocated to the city by the American Rescue Plan. The Bay City Times previously reported that the city currently has a 20-year time limit to replace the lead lines, as set forth by the state. A $5 million ‘Drinking Water State Revolving Fund’ state grant is currently being used for the program, however, the additional funding will allow the project to keep moving forward pending the receipt of any other possible sources of funding, said the agenda item. The Daily Reporter
Don Reid Read the full article. If the Coldwater City Council agrees to borrow $3 million, all 1,291 lead water service lines can be removed and replaced in the next four years rather than take the 20 years it has to do the work under current federal regulations. Rather than have ratepayers cover the cost, instead, the federal government will repay the loan as the work is done. Coldwater Board of Public Utilities director Jeff Budd explained “these bonds are a little unusual as they are going to be 100% forgiven through a federal grant known as Booker Funds.” The city will issue debt through the State of Michigan’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. Debt service on the bonds is completely forgiven. |
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