Hamiltonians want to help their sister city by giving it fresh, safe water to drink.

Craig McNeill, a 45-year-old construction foreman, has been collecting money and bottled water to drive down to Flint, Mich. A state of emergency was declared last month as the city deals with a drinking water contamination crisis.

He has made one trip so far, hauling 10,200 bottles of water in a rented U-Haul across the Sarnia border on Jan. 29 and dropping them off at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan and a local fire hall. He plans to keep collecting donations until there's a long-term solution to the drinking water problem.

The Hamilton resident wanted to lend a hand after seeing an online article about a man who uses his rationed bottled water for his children and to cook at home, leaving none for him to drink.

The Flint man boils water for himself, but knows that won't remove the lead, McNeill said.

"I got pretty emotional," he said. "In Michigan and central Ontario, look at how much fresh drinking water we have. Why can't we get some to this guy and the people of Flint?"

McNeill turned to Facebook for help.

He penned a post, promising to donate the first $100 and pay for the cost to transport the bottled water across the border.

Within half an hour, $450 was raised, he said.

McNeill noted he's also receiving help from local neighbourhood hubs, including Sherman, Crown Point, Homeside and Stinson.

"People in Hamilton are feeling the connection," he said. "The people in Hamilton care about this."

Crown Point's Jayoti Roy Eddington and Sherman's Patti Encinas are now helping McNeill with the cause.

Encinas said her 15-year-old son, Josh Breeze, wants to take a load over the border and is trying to organize a fundraiser at his high school.

"Our goal is to build, to make this bigger and keep it as a frequent, ongoing thing until they actually have a real solution," Encinas said.

Next, McNeill would like to hand out the water to Flint residents himself along with other helpers.

To get involved, email McNeill at crg.mcneill@gmail.com.

As sister cities, Hamilton and Flint have alternated hosting the youth CANUSA Games since 1958.

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Last month, Mayor Fred Eisenberger sent a letter to Flint officials noting Hamilton's own efforts to deal with lead in old pipes and asking if the city can provide support.

The Detroit Free Press reported Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's application for federal assistance stated it could cost US$55 million to repair damaged pipes and another US$41 million to pay for months of water distribution as well as test water and provide filters and cartridges for Flint residents.