About Flint's Water... Hey look! A squirrel!

[Jimmy Higgins]

link

So, you may be familiar with the Flint Water crisis... where the value of money was held over the value of safe water because this shit will be just fine. Any way:

Michigan would have the toughest lead-testing rules in the nation and require the replacement of all underground lead service pipes in the state under a sweeping plan that Gov. Rick Snyder and a team of water experts unveiled Friday in the wake of Flint's water crisis.

Oh... lead-testing rules will be tightened... as if the problem in Flint was about lax allowable levels of lead in the household water.

But they are going to replace all the lead pipes in Michigan! Yippee!!! That will help matters a lot.

It is unclear how much the proposal will cost, and the policy workgroup purposely did not take funding into account.

Oh... "require the replacement of all underground lead service pipes" not actually replace them. This would be like saying we are going solve hunger by feeding everyone, a "let them eat cake" sort of thing (which is misattributed to Mary Jane).

So they are window dressing a crisis. We'll lower the allowable level of lead in the water, which doesn't actually address the problem. But they want to replace all the lead pipes, they just don't know how to pay for it. Maybe a tax cut or pension smoothing?

 

[Malintent]

Sounds like an application for federal aid for a state emergency is in order... Has Obama chimed in?

Oh, he has.. 3 months ago: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne.../stabenow-obama-gives-million-flint/79134306/

"Obama gives $80 million to Michigan for Flint"

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Sounds like an application for federal aid for a state emergency is in order... Has Obama chimed in?

Oh, he has.. 3 months ago: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne.../stabenow-obama-gives-million-flint/79134306/

"Obama gives $80 million to Michigan for Flint"

That's nice. After all the officials take their cut, that'll leave about $50 which can be used to order some takeout while they discuss how it's somebody else's problem.

 

[arkirk]

The assholes that caused this public poisoning have a handle on the problem folks. The governor and his minions have a plan. Well bully for that. A few of them should plan on going to jail for their assault on the public health. I think Moore has the right idea on this.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Hopefully when Snyder runs for re-election, Michigan's voters will have a plan when they go to the polls.

 

[Malintent]

Sounds like an application for federal aid for a state emergency is in order... Has Obama chimed in?

Oh, he has.. 3 months ago: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne.../stabenow-obama-gives-million-flint/79134306/

"Obama gives $80 million to Michigan for Flint"

That's nice. After all the officials take their cut, that'll leave about $50 which can be used to order some takeout while they discuss how it's somebody else's problem.

worse than that... the article continues to sate that they spent 20M of the money already on bottled water handouts... not a fix, obviously. They need to rip up all the pipes, but once they spend all the money handing out Poland Spring (for fucks sake), there will be insufficient funds. The article also implies that the feds have little to no power to control HOW states spend the money. so, if they want to update all the bathrooms in their state capitol building with the money, they can.

 

[RavenSky]

Hopefully when Snyder runs for re-election, Michigan's voters will have a plan when they go to the polls.

If the plan doesn't included redistricting and voter registration drive LONG before the elections, it wont matter what the majority of the people want

 

[Playball40]

What about the pipes that go from the main supply to the houses? My guess is they are going to put that on the homeowner/property owner even though it was their untreated water that caused the pipes to begin leaching lead.

link

So, you may be familiar with the Flint Water crisis... where the value of money was held over the value of safe water because this shit will be just fine. Any way:


Oh... lead-testing rules will be tightened... as if the problem in Flint was about lax allowable levels of lead in the household water.

But they are going to replace all the lead pipes in Michigan! Yippee!!! That will help matters a lot.

It is unclear how much the proposal will cost, and the policy workgroup purposely did not take funding into account.

Oh... "require the replacement of all underground lead service pipes" not actually replace them. This would be like saying we are going solve hunger by feeding everyone, a "let them eat cake" sort of thing (which is misattributed to Mary Jane).

So they are window dressing a crisis. We'll lower the allowable level of lead in the water, which doesn't actually address the problem. But they want to replace all the lead pipes, they just don't know how to pay for it. Maybe a tax cut or pension smoothing?

 

[KeepTalking]

What about the pipes that go from the main supply to the houses? My guess is they are going to put that on the homeowner/property owner even though it was their untreated water that caused the pipes to begin leaching lead.

And, I can tell you from experience that homeowners insurance will not cover pipes outside of the home, so homeowners will have to pay for that expense out of pocket.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

What about the pipes that go from the main supply to the houses? My guess is they are going to put that on the homeowner/property owner even though it was their untreated water that caused the pipes to begin leaching lead.

And, I can tell you from experience that homeowners insurance will not cover pipes outside of the home, so homeowners will have to pay for that expense out of pocket.

I believe replace of the service is what is being talked about in the OP. The funding mechanism not as much talked about. Then there are the internal pipes in the home itself, which gets more complicated in old multiple story buildings.

 

[Bronzeage]

The Flint crisis has been a puzzle to me. I live in a state where indoor running water has not been a reality for that long a time, so maybe that explains why there are no lead pipes around here. The oldest plumbing I have ever dug out of the ground was galvanized steel. It works well for the purpose, but tends to rust through after a couple decades. We always replaced it with copper pipe, which is supposed to be eternal.

Eventually, PVC pipe won out. Much cheaper than copper and much easier to work with. No solder, no torch, just a can of cement.

It seems strange that after so much noise was made about lead paint in old buildings and houses, anybody trusted a layer of deposits on the inside of a lead pipe to keep children safe.

 

[ZiprHead]

Just to let people know, they are ripping out the pipes between the street supply and the homes in Flint. It hasn't been many but they are doing it. I don't know who is paying for it but it isn't the homeowner.

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/03/plans_to_replace_lead_pipes_in.html

 

[RavenSky]

Just to let people know, they are ripping out the pipes between the street supply and the homes in Flint. It hasn't been many but they are doing it. I don't know who is paying for it but it isn't the homeowner.

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/03/plans_to_replace_lead_pipes_in.html

Basically, the Mayor of Flint is doing it

Right now, the program is using a $2-million reimbursement from the state for monies spent switching back to the Detroit water system in 2015.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, who has been instrumental in helping Mayor Weaver get the Fast Start initiative and funding requests underway, also was in attendance.

“I want to sincerely thank Mayor Bernero for assisting me in making sure Flint gets the assistance it needs to recover from this manmade disaster,” Mayor Weaver said. “Having him in our corner has helped make the world take notice of the huge task ahead to restore our city.”

The Lansing Board of Water & Light, which has replaced more than 13,500 lead service lines in Lansing over the past 12 years, will be lending its expertise to the project. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality are working with the city as well.

The City of Flint is starting the work of replacing lead pipes with the $2 million the state reimbursed the city for what it spent last fall reconnecting to water supplied by the Great Lakes Water Authority, which serves Detroit and surrounding communities.

https://www.cityofflint.com/2016/03...tart-project-with-removal-of-first-lead-pipe/

 

[ZiprHead]

Just heard on the morning news from WNEM that charges are expected to be filed today against those responsible. No word on who that might be.

 

[RavenSky]

Just heard on the morning news from WNEM that charges are expected to be filed today against those responsible. No word on who that might be.

It won't be the Governor so it will be scapegoats