The Flint River Water Project is ongoing.
By Ray Felton
Residents of Flint, Michigan (click here) who are facing the risk of lead contamination in their water are entitled to water bottle delivery to their home, a federal judge ruled this week:
David Lawson, a US district judge, said in a preliminary injunction that officials must deliver each week four cases of bottled water per resident to Flint households that do not have properly installed taps.
"The interim relief is intended to provide a rough substitute that municipal water systems must furnish: delivery of safe drinking water to the point of use," Lawson wrote in the 37 page order. "The court is convinced that this service can be achieved by means of the current water main and service line infrastructure, augmented by effective water filters that are installed and maintained properly."...
The judges order primarily focuses on the delivery of potable water at the point of use. If the point of use even with the filters does not deliver safe drinking water than the solution is otherwise.
The order while helpful does raise the question about replacing the pipes as a necessary function to having safe drinking water at the point of use.
The water in Flint, Michigan will have to be monitored and sampled. Residents need to accompany those tests with a record of filters and replacements. A town registry can be ordered by the mayor and council and it can become a legal record to present to the courts as pipe replacement goes forward.
