Emergency Manager Jerry Ambrose, with approval from the Department of Treasury, has authorized a contract with LAN, the City’s consulting engineers, to immediately proceed with design and installation of granulated activated carbon filter for the Water Treatment Plant. Installation of the filter was one of the primary recommendations from Veolia and others as a means to help assure that City water will continue to be within EPA guidelines. Installation is scheduled to begin in Mid-June, with completion by mid-July.
Other action steps are also underway at the plant, including cleaning plate settlers, repairing the clarifier, and adjusting chemical dosing and levels as also recommended. Additionally, a contract is being finalized for the water main leak detection project, hydraulic modeling and flushing is underway, and bids for the replacement of 2 miles of major pipe are being reviewed.
Nearly $5 million has been budgeted to implement these actions, which in large measure are the ongoing types of action necessary to maintain the water treatment and distribution system. $2.1 million of this amount is budgeted for replacement of the pipe along Dupont St., and $1.6 million is budgeted for the GAC, with $900,000 budgeted for water main leak detection. Actual replacement of the pipe is scheduled to begin in June, and to be completed by early September.
These steps are all part of the action plan recently released by the City as it continues its work to maintain the safety of the water and improve its quality. Recent testing has shown that Flint’s water is meeting all regulatory safety standards, with TTHM levels being significantly below the maximum level accepted.
The measures that have been taken to date by the Flint Water Plant staff have resulted in a significant improvement in the quality of Flint water since last summer. “Both the hardness and TTHM levels are at the lowest point since the switch to the Flint river last April,” said DPW Director Howard Croft. “Installing the GAC filter, in addition to these other steps, will further bolster the positive direction we are moving in to continue improving the quality of water in the City.”
