- One woman in our neighborhood in Mason has already had her lead lines replaced.
- According to local officials, they were ahead of the game before this was announced.
- Video shows where the city of Mason is at on the replacements and what neighbors need to know.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Following the Flint Water Crisis, the State of Michigan set a deadline for all municipalities to remove their lead service lines, but now that deadline is changing. City officials say the accelerated timeline could strain the city's finances.
Katie Phillips is one of many neighbors in Mason affected by lead service line removal.
"I'm not particularly sure if we had them or not, but they tore up our whole street," said Phillips.
Phillips says she was notified before construction began but faced challenges during the process.
"It was to a point where you couldn't get out of your driveway."
As a result of the Flint Water Crisis, the State Legislature amended the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act in 2018, requiring all cities to remove lead service lines to better protect public health.
"We were replacing about 30 a year to beat the timeline that the state required," said City Manager Deborah Stuart.
Originally, Michigan set a 2041 deadline for municipalities to remove the lead service lines. But with President Biden’s recent announcement, the new deadline is now 2037. According to Stuart, the City of Mason has 2,517 service lines, and 415 of those are lead lines.
"We have identified and done the random sampling of all the lead lines," said Stuart.
Lead, a heavy metal used in pipes, is a neurotoxin that can cause serious health problems.
"There's likely some that we've identified as lead, but they may not be once we actually inspect them."
Stuart says that although they were previously replacing about 30 lines a year, they now plan to replace 40 lines annually to meet the new federal deadline.
"Of course, there's going to be budget challenges because this is an increase even on top of the unfunded mandate prior."
Despite the financial concerns, Stuart understands the urgency, and Phillips agrees.
"You don't want lead pipes, so take as long as you need," said Phillips.
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