State officials: 90% of Benton Harbor's water service lines now lead-free

Hannah Mackay
The Detroit News
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State environmental officials say more than 90% of the city's water service lines now are lead-free, roughly a year after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered a directive ordering all lines to be lead-free by 2023.

Crews have excavated 171 service lines in the last month, averaging six a day, the Michigan Department of Environmental, Great Lakes and Energy said Tuesday in a news release. About 4,000 water lines have been replaced with copper or confirmed to not contain lead, leaving 400 to do.

"It is great to hear that we are almost to the finish line,” Benton Harbor resident Sam Hudson said in a statement. “Over the last year, things have really come together and everyone, including the city, county, state of Michigan and the community found ways to work together to get us where we are now.  The work has been done expeditiously to replace the lines and the results are good for my community."