Flint Urged to Break Ties with Detroit Water Department

The City of Flint is being urged to break ties with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and join the Karegnondi Water Authority.

On September 7, 2011, officials from Genesee County and the Karegnondi Water Authority met with the Flint City Council to present a report prepared by Rowe Engineering, which compared the cost of upgrading the City of Flint's Water Treatment Plant ($61.5 million) with the cost of getting its water from the KWA (not specified). 

Analysis indicates that the cost of supplying water from the Flint River on a continuous basis will be greater than the proposed KWA Raw Water Supply Contract, but less than continued supply from Detroit. 

On September 18, 2011, an Editorial in the Flint Journal urged Flint officials to "fish or cut bait" on their decision whether to continue buying water from Detroit or join the Karegnondi Water Authority. The Flint Journal recommends that Flint support the new pipeline plan.

Additional Resources:

• Rowe Engineering, Analysis of the Flint River as a Permanent Water Supply for the City of Flint (July, 2011) (Flint River Study)
• Flint River Study, Appendices 1 to 8 
• Karegnondi Water Authority (Homepage)
• Karegnondi Water Authority (DWSD Update)
  

Comment: Maybe I'm missing something, but if the City Flint will only be buying raw water from the KWA, the City will still need to make capital upgrades to its water treatment plant. No? As things stand now, Flint's WTP is a back-up to the water it buys from DWSD. Won't Flint have to make the capital improvements outlined by Rowe Engineering to bring their water treatment plant into compliance? So that it can process the raw water it receives from the KWA pipeline? If someone knows the answer to these questions, please let me know. 

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