Environmental and civil rights groups in Michigan are ordering a federal judge to replace all lead pipes in Flint’s water system immediately to ensure a safe drinking water supply for the town’s residents. These groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming that the city and state officials failed to properly treat the water in Flint for corrosion, which violates the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Since the lead-filled water looks so horrific and discolored, citizens of the town are banned temporarily from drinking the unfiltered tap water. Tests have also shown that there are high levels of lead in some children’s blood, which may be life threatening.
Because there have been such high levels of lead in the water pipes for the last year and a half, the town is being forced to fully replace all of the pipes, as it is the only solution to the problem. The estimated cost for repairing all 15,000 lead-damaged pipes is approximately 55 million. As a result of the lawsuit and the degenerating health of a multitude of citizens throughout the city, the residents of Flint will not have to pay for any of the reconstruction of the water system. Flint will now be reconnected to Detroit’s water system as a temporary solution while waiting for a new pipeline to be built from Lake Huron.