The state will cover the cost of replacing water lines -- the pipes that connect household plumbing to the main distribution pipe running beneath the street -- for at least 18,000 Flint households by 2020, according to the settlement, which resulted from a lawsuit over lead-tainted water in the city. Michigan will provide $87 million in a combination of state and federal money, according to the settlement; $47 million of that must come from sources other than Obama-era federal water infrastructure improvement funds. In addition, $10 million in federal funds will be put aside in case replacements cost more than expected. The state will also monitor the water quality of a sampling of homes after the replacement, and hire an independent third party to test and monitor a sampling of at least 100 homes for at least three years. The City of Flint has agreed to a timeline stipulating they will have replaced pipe lines in a minimum of 6,000 households by 2018, 12,000 by the next year and finally all 18,000 households by 2020, according to the settlement.

Source: CNN March 28, 2017 01:18 UTC