Mayor Weaver’s FAST Start Initiative Exceeds Expectations for 2017

4,656 Excavations Completed This Year, Pipes Replaced at 6,024 Flint Homes To Date

(December 4, 2017) FLINT, Mich. — Lead-tainted service lines at 5,125 homes have been replaced so far in Phase 4 of Mayor Karen Weaver’s FAST Start initiative. The effort is part of the mayor’s plan to replace lead-tainted pipes at 6,000 Flint homes in 2017.

Crews from four area companies are replacing lead and galvanized service lines leading from the street to the water meter in residents’ homes during this fourth phase of FAST Start, extending the mayor’s efforts to restore safe, clean drinking water to Flint residents. Overall, service lines to 6,024 homes have been replaced since FAST Start launched in March 2016.

In addition, crews have identified copper service lines at a total of 1,266 homes which did not need to be replaced. Workers have begun checking the composition of some service lines using hydro-excavation. The process allows pipe replacement crews to avoid digging up copper service lines and concentrate just on homes with lead and galvanized pipes. So far, lines at 4,656 homes have been checked.

To be eligible for service line replacements, residents must have an active water account. They also must have signed a consent card giving permission for the work to be done (consent cards are being delivered to residents). In rental homes, both the owner and the tenant must sign consent cards. Residents are urged to sign the consent cards as soon as possible, so crews working in their neighborhood can replace their service line.

FAST Start crews will continue work in the following areas this week:

• Goyette Mechanical Co.: Ann Arbor Street, Axford Street, Beard Street, Carrill Court, Maxine Avenue, Oak Street, Seventh Street, Sixth Street, Stockton Street, Walker Street, Woodlawn Park Drive, and Woodside Drive
• W.T. Stevens Construction: Delia Street, Mary Street, Page Street, and E. Witherbee Street
• Lang Construction: Euclid Avenue, Grace Street, Pontiac Street, Seminole Street, and Stockdale Street
• Waldorf and Sons: Blanchard Avenue, Maxine Street, and Montclair Avenue

“Thanks to the hydro-excavation process we integrated this year, we discovered a significant number of the pipes we initially planned to replace were actually copper lines that didn’t need to be removed after all,” added General Mike McDaniel, who has been coordinating the FAST Start project. “Crews will continue working as long as the weather permits, and remove and replace as many lead tainted pipes as we can.”

“I am very pleased with the progress that has been made this year with the FAST Start initiative,” said Mayor Weaver. “The settlement agreement reached earlier this year calls for 6,000 excavations in 2017, and we have far exceeded that. Crews have completed excavations at more than 4,600 addresses and replaced more than 5,100 lead-tainted lines and that is great news for the residents of Flint. We have come a long way since this time last year, and that’s something to be proud of.”

More information about the FAST Start initiative can be found on the City of Flint website www.cityofflint.com as well as the City of Flint FAST Start Facebook page. Questions about FAST Start may be directed to the FAST Start office by emailing [email protected] or by calling (810) 410-1133.