Flint Replaces All Active Lead Water Lines After Decade-Long Effort

Officials in Flint, Michigan, announced that there are no longer any active lead service lines operating within the city's water system, marking a major infrastructure milestone nearly a decade after the start of the Flint water crisis.

The announcement comes after extensive underground work conducted across the city. Data from the city and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy shows that crews excavated nearly 32,000 addresses. The long-running project resulted in replacing more than 11,000 lead service lines, clean-capping nearly 1,400 lead lines, and inspecting nearly 19,000 copper-to-copper connections.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley acknowledged the enormous scope of the project, stating that reaching completion required a massive team effort. He noted that while early inspections were relatively simple, later stages required obtaining property owner consent to access private service lines. For properties where owners did not provide consent, crews disconnected the lines so they would no longer remain active in the municipal system.

The completion fulfills requirements stemming from a 2017 legal settlement that mandated the city replace its lead water infrastructure. Community activist Melissa Mays, who helped lead the lawsuit, expressed mixed feelings about the milestone, noting that the project was originally slated for completion in 2020.

Mays pointed out that the effort faced prolonged delays, including setbacks in 2020 when the city changed engineering firms and encountered challenges obtaining access to private properties. She emphasized that while the removal of active lead lines is a significant step forward, full recovery for residents affected by health and environmental harm remains an ongoing process.

While public works crews have completed underground excavations and replacements, officials acknowledge that rebuilding community confidence in the city's drinking water system above ground will require continued effort.

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