It’s been five years since the people of Flint, Michigan, have had clean water, but it was only yesterday that it was announced that the city would get the remaining $77.7 million in federal funding to help with water infrastructure improvements.
According to MLive, the funds are from a $120 million federal and state loan that was given to Flint in 2017 under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016.
Projects expected to be funded through the loan include the completion of a secondary water source pipeline, construction of a chemical feed building, water main and water meter replacement, water quality monitoring panel, and contingency service line replacement funding, among other projects.
The projects are expected to help with the short- and long-term sustainability of the water system in the city, Flint’s Director of Public Works Rob Bincsik told MLive but also noted that “as stated in the Water Distribution Optimization Plan the water system needs in excess of another $300 million in capital improvements over the next 20 years.”
Bincsik also stressed that while the incoming funds are great, it is not exactly new funding.
“While we are grateful for this funding it’s important to understand its not new funding,” he said. “The federal government awarded this funding and is utilizing the MDEQ’s Drinking Water Revolving Fund as the mechanism to disperse it to the City of Flint.”