LANSING, MI—Flint could gain a community water testing lab if a crowdfunding campaign raises $35,000 by July 31.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has promised to match the funding for The Flint Community Water Lab if the goal is met in time. The MEDC, Freshwater Future and Evergreen Community Development announced the project in a press release in May.

The MEDC will provide the funding through its Public Spaces Community Places, a program where residents can use crowdfunding to be included in the development of projects. The program is a collaboration between the Michigan Municipal League and Patronicity.

“This space represents a different type of placemaking – one that is a community-driven effort to provide free water sampling for all Flint residents,” said MEDC Senior Vice President of Community Development Katharine Czarnecki.

The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014. As of May 1, the MEDC has provided $6.3 million in matching grants and 204 projects have been able to reach their funding goals.

It’s been five years since the Flint water crisis surfaced and residents are still wary of using their tap water. The project aims to restore trust within the community by providing an open space for residents to test their water for themselves.

The Flint Water Lab would be located at the Flint Development Center and will educate residents about water quality as well as provide resources to maintain safe water as Flint’s pipes are replaced.

The remaining 2,500 lead or steel service lines delivering water to Flint residents are scheduled to be removed and replaced by July 31. The city has checked the service lines of more than 21,000 Flint homes.

Only when all the pipes have been replaced will residents be given the go-ahead to stop using bottled water and resume using Flint tap water.

Fifteen Flint students completed more than 170 water tests in six weeks during a summer pilot program launched by Freshwater Future and Evergreen Community Development initiative. The students found 30 percent of sampled homes still lacked working water filters.

“The experience last summer was great. The community really appreciated the free testing and resources,” said Daryl Sparks, a student in the pilot program. “It helped me understand how water is tested and explain it to my family, friends and neighbors in a way that we all understand, which is really helpful to the community.”

The crowd funding initiative will allow for an expansion of the initiative into a more permanent solution to continue educating residents, according to the press release.

“By expanding the lab space in the community center, we are continuing to instill hope in this city that we have been missing for quite some time. That hope is helping us to heal,” said Pastor Daniel Smith, a founder of the Flint Development Center. “By educating and providing a testing facility in a neighborhood, we believe that we will begin to accelerate people’s trust in the recovery process.”

More information on the Flint Water Lab can be found here.