Flint mayor: Water fix could cost as much as $1.5B

[Eugene]

Source: The Detroit News

Lansing — Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said Thursday replacing her city’s myriad of lead-leaching water pipes could cost as much as $1.5 billion, while the state’s top health official deemed Flint’s water unsafe to drink without filtration.

“We have not done a final assessment of that,” Weaver said Thursday after a closed-door meeting with Gov. Rick Snyder at his Lansing office. “We’ve heard from millions up to $1.5 billion. We’re doing assessments right now to see what it’s going to cost.”

Hoping to establish “a very close partnership,” Snyder met Thursday morning with Weaver to discuss the city’s on-going lead contaminated drinking water crisis two days after declaring a state of emergency in Genesee County.

Even though problems with Flint’s water problems have persisted for 19 months, state officials began kicking their response to the crisis into gear Thursday.

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Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/07/flint-water/78404218/

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Chad Livengood, Detroit News Lansing Bureau 3:50 p.m. EST January 7, 2016

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. I'm sure Goldman Sachs will be willing to underwite some municipals

At 18.99%

[Human101948]

3. which Flint will be unable to pay...

so GS can scoop up any other publicproperty that's left and privatize it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. But of course

[Buzz Clik]

2. That is insane. You don't need to replace the pipes.

Just put some phosphate in with the water; the phosphate "fixes" the lead and copper in place, and the problem is solved.

I can understand her not know this, but does she surround herself with nothing but idiots?

[exboyfil]

4. Whether it was her or the mandated city manager

The first problem was saying, "I think we can save money" without first understanding that designs (or processes) in this case that work cost more than those that don't. The engineers surrounding this switch let the city down. In addition contingencies should have been in place day one when the decision was made to come off of Detroit water (ie contracts with them that would allow a smooth transition whatever that would be - this would cost more because you are purchasing the flexibility but it would have made a lot more sense).

Here is an article talking about where the lead came from.

http://michiganradio.org/post/whos-blame-flints-water-crisis-virginia-tech-researcher-points-finger-mdeq#stream/0

Solving the problem

Edwards says there has been very serious damage done to the pipes by using corrosive water in the system, but he expects that if the city were to switch back to water from Detroit, lead levels in the drinking water would likely drop in one month.

[Buzz Clik]

14. For sure! The first problem was saving money by drinking urban river water. Brainless.

I agree with pretty much every word you typed.

Excellent link! (and the links embedded within)

[saturnsring]

5. didnt we just spend decades trying to get phosphates out of our water

[Buzz Clik]

13. Wastewater.

In pipes that contain lead or copper, as the pipes age... it's necessary.

[captainarizona]

6. make republicans pay it

a tax assessed to anyone making $100,000 are more.

[ToxMarz]

11. There are some Democrats that make decent money too

But they would complain because they wouldn't have caused the problem in the first place, not because it needed to be done.

[Ed Suspicious]

7. We need to invest in infrastructure. This is the perfect place to start. Fix Flint's water. Bring

money to the community through the jobs brought about by this urban planning failure.

[Pathwalker]

8. Snyder, you nasty lying teabagger in nerd disguise, you have

turned Michigan into Michissippi, you craven amoral toady of the 1%, and done as much damage to this lovely state as the equally odious John Engler. Your legacy shall always be the tragedy you forced on the children of Flint, you dirty evil rotten no good bastard!

So, asshole, are you going to let Enbridge Energy destroy the Great Lakes, too, by refusing to shut down the CRUDE OIL pipeline under the Big Mack bridge?

[Matariki]

9. Well how did that saving money thing go for you?

jerks criminals

[Odin2005]

10. Every idiot involved in this clusterfuck should be in jail.

These fuckers are guilty of a negligent disregard for human life.

[Stellar]

15. The citizens of Flint Michigan currently have 'NO' water being shipped to them.

Most of them would walk to 'Pastor Bobby Jackson' church to get bottles of water because they have no other form of transportation, so they couldn't possibly carry a case of water home. So the pastor said he would break the case down so that it would be easier to carry. The pastor said that he was getting water being shipped to him by Walmart and Coka-Cola but he's out and don't expect any more for a few days.

A Sheriff by the name of Robert Pickell from Genesee County Michigan took it upon himself to help and he got a truck donated from a local towing company to haul a thousand water filters from a government office where they had been sitting and bottled water from a local food bank. He also put together a work crew...community service workers and volunteer police officers.

The reporter said she called the governor's office and asked when would water be coming in and they appeared to be confused. So the person that answered the phone put her on hold and when she came back said she didn't know and told her that she probably could find the some water at Pastor Jacksons church.

[madokie]

16. And its going to cost more and more each day you drag your fucking feet

now get out there and get this job done. Theres no question that this will be done so waiting only adds to the cost. goofy bastards anyway

[romanic]

17. Flint truly is fucked.

[yurbud]

18. the governor and that city manager should be in jail pending trial

[Vinca]

19. And it would have cost only $100 a day to make that water safe.

Just another example of GOP wisdom.