GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP) – A city in western Michigan was selected to receive a $ 5.1 million water infrastructure improvement grant.
The funding will also support public engagement in Grand Rapids with the risks of lead in drinking water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Both goals are part of the city’s strategic plan.
The grant will help fund 1,700 replacement lines for senior service lines over the coming years, in addition to 603 spare parts currently envisaged in Grand Rapids’ 2021 budget. Since 2017, the city has replaced more than 1,500 lead service lines on construction projects and by replacing emergency leaks.
Millions of households in the US get their water from toxic lead pipes that can leach and poison children if the water is not treated with the right mix of chemicals. Replacing these lead pipes is a daunting task for cities and public water systems because of the cost involved.
In Flint, about 182 kilometers east of Grand Rapids, lead levels rose in 2014 after the city switched its water source from Lake Huron, which was treated with the corrosion-inhibiting orthophosphate, to the Flint River, which it did not treat.
Lead and steel lines are being replaced there as part of a legal dispute.
Get the latest news on lead pipes on the Great Lakes:
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Featured Image: This July 20, 2018 file photo shows a lead pipe after it was replaced with a copper water supply line to a home in Flint, Michigan. (AP Photo / Paul Sancya, file)
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