Matthew Dolan

Detroit Free Press

The price of clean water in Flint could be rising significantly.

A new report obtained by the Detroit Free Press shows the average cost for replacing a service water line in the city through a pilot project that ended this month was $7,500. That's almost double the average cost of $4,000 for each replacement estimated by the state Department of Environmental Quality at the beginning of the water crisis last fall.

The true cost could even be higher. Not included in the calculations were average permit fees of $2,400 per site, according to the 115-page report produced by the engineering company Rowe Professional Services for the State of Michigan.

"Isn't it odd that the city is charging so much for permits, pavement cuts, etc. at a time when it claims everyone needs to do everything they can to help the people of Flint recover?" Ari Adler, spokesman for Gov. Rick Snyder, said in an e-mail Friday. "The mayor keeps saying they need a lot more money to do the replacements, and yet the city is charging very large fees for the work the city wants to get done."

A spokeswoman for Flint Mayor Karen Weaver did not immediately return a message for comment Friday.

The increased cost of pipe replacement could further complicate ongoing discussions in Lansing over how much the state should pony up to help Flint as it faces a $460-million revenue shortfall reported last week at the state’s revenue estimating conference.

Earlier this month, Richard Baird, a top aide to Snyder, said that the cost for pipe replacement in Flint will likely approach $55 million, more than $27 million more than what was included in the governor's budget request. The city already has $2 million from the state to replace about 500 lines.

It is possible that as the city scales up its pipe replacement, the average cost could drop, officials said.

Baird's new estimate now matches ones used by Weaver for months in her $55-million Fast Start lead pipe replacement plan. The mayor, who has lobbied the state's top legislative leaders for Flint aid, originally estimated pipe replacement on average to cost about $3,670 per line.

Flint remains under a state of emergency because of elevated lead levels that continue to be found in drinking water supplied to city residents.

Originally, the governor's budget called for nearly $200 million for Flint with the ongoing crisis surrounding lead contamination in the city's water supply. But in talks over a budget deal, even the Flint package that has made some headway could be at risk for cuts.

The proposed appropriation includes $128 million approved by the Senate last month that would be available as soon as the budget deal is wrapped up and signed by the governor and another $37 million that would come after Oct. 1. The money also includes $25 million for lead pipe replacement and a $50-million emergency fund for future expenses. An additional $165-million proposal from Snyder to deal with water infrastructure issues across the state has not been included in the budget deal.

But the state is now wrestling with an estimated revenue shortfall of $460 million that could trim spending, including on Flint.

"As for the budget, funding for Flint remains a priority for the governor and he has found that his partners in the Legislature also are interested in doing what they can to ensure the people of Flint have the resources they need to recover from this crisis," Adler said.

Funding for Flint in Washington has had an even harder row to hoe.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, proposed this week creating a multibillion-dollar fund to pay for repairing water infrastructure around the country — and replacing lead service lines like those found in Flint and elsewhere — by forcing American companies to pay taxes in the U.S. on overseas profits.

But Conyers' proposal is one of several coming in the wake of the Flint water crisis that have yet to clear Congress. One — which could provide more than $100 million in grants or loans to Flint to help replace water pipes, as well as fund other water projects and public health efforts across the country — is being pushed by U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both D-Mich. so far to no avail.

According to the Rowe report, records showed that about 10,200 lines have been identified as lead or galvanized steel — also considered risky for leaching lead — and likely need to be replaced. But those records are not completely accurate. Rowe found in the city's pilot project only 64% of sites excavated had been accurately labeled by city records.

The pilot project ran into other challenges.

"There were times when the contractor had to wait for the inspector to get to the site and approve the pipe work prior to backfilling," the report said. "Although only a minor concern with the pilot program, it will be critical for a large-scale replacement program that there is sufficient inspection staff to avoid contractor delays."

Other issues included how to handle home fixtures damaged in the process and properly treat lead-contaminated soil unearthed during the pipe replacement.

Moving forward, the Rowe report raised several questions about how to approach the problem: Should the government pay for all pipe removal, including the portion from the sidewalk which is traditionally a homeowner's responsibility? Should the replacement project include all galvanized piping in addition to lead ones?

In the report, Rowe made several recommendations. They included investigating first to confirm the composition of the piping in the home before starting work, citing a need to improve efficiency and reduce overall costs. The work should happen in clumps in neighborhoods rather than home by home to reduce disruption for residents, according to Rowe, a Flint-based engineering firm that had done previous work on the city's water system.

"Depending on the funding allocated for service replacement, multiple contracts should be awarded so that the work can be completed quickly" the report said. "However, the number of contracts and potential work crews must be balanced against the city’s ability to provide permitting and inspection."

At a news conference earlier this week, Weaver said the city will soon release requests for proposals to complete the next stage of the city's Fast Start program to replace pipes in the city. So far, only 30 pipes have been replaced.

In an effort to flush out lead particles in Flint's water system that continue to spike the supply to unsafe levels, the city is also in the midst of a campaign this month designed to persuade residents to run their taps for 10 minutes a day for two weeks.

Flint mayor, governor push plan to flush pipes

Contact Matthew Dolan at 313-223-4743 or msdolan@freepress.com. Staff writers Kathleen Gray and Todd Spangler contributed to this report.