Flint mayor's lead pipe removal plan gets underway

FLINT, Mich. – Flint Mayor Karen Weaver's project to remove all lead water pipes from her city is underway. 

A Flint home with high lead levels in its water had its lead water service line replaced Friday afternoon with a copper one. Digging got underway Friday morning. 

This marks the beginning of Weaver's "Fast Start" initiative intended to replace lead pipes in Flint. She’s calling on Gov. Rick Snyder to pressure leaders in the state legislature to move immediately to approve $25 million for the first phase of the $55 million plan. Weaver also wants the governor to support the bipartisan plan led by Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters for $220 million in clean water and health funding.

"The City of Flint and contractors are working to confirm the presence of service lines to homes made of lead or affected by lead contamination," reads a statement from Weaver's office. "The Fast Start initiative will be targeted first at homes in neighborhoods with the highest number of children under 6 years old, senior citizens, pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, and households where water tests indicate high levels of lead at the tap."