Flint, MI—The City of Flint has announced that the “earliest estimated date” to begin incorporating water from the recently completed secondary pipeline is Wednesday, Aug. 18.
In order to test the secondary pipeline, and complete valve repairs on the primary pipeline, the City will soon begin gradually incorporating more and more water from the secondary pipeline.
The secondary pipeline, which was completed a few weeks ago, is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to be used in case of an emergency. It is connected to the Genesee County Drain Commission, while the primary pipeline is connected to the Great Lakes Water Authority delivery system. They both use Lake Huron as the water source.
According to an Aug. 16 press release from te city, the secondary water pipeline was tested for bacteria traces over the weekend and no bacteria was detected after multiple testing periods.
Before the City can begin increasing use of the GCDC delivery system, it must be approved by project officials. According to the release, these officials will review the secondary pipeline Aug. 17 to determine if water can start running through it, and this project can begin.
If everything is approved, the transition could start on Aug. 18. This would mean the City’s water delivery system would move to being 95% from GLWA, and 5% from GCDC. That percentage GCDC would then increase over time until the City is using 100% GCDC, so work can begin on the primary water pipeline.
During a special Flint City Council meeting on Aug. 13, the Director of the Department of Public Works Michael Brown said the project is expected to be completed by the first or second week of December, if it begins this week.
Monitoring will take place during this time, and the results will be posted on the EPA’s “Taking Action on Flint Water” website at www.michigan.gov/flintwater.