Plumbers from Lansing area headed to Flint

LANSING - Members of a local plumbers and pipefitters union plans to team up Saturday with an affiliate in Flint to help city residents cope with a water crisis that's received worldwide attention.

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 — covering Lansing, Jackson and Battle Creek — is seeking licensed plumbers to help Flint residents install water filters provided by the state and new faucets provided by the union's national office.

"The number one obligation of a licensed plumber is to provide safe water to communities," said Price Dobernick, Local 333's business manager. "As soon as we heard about the Flint water issue, we’ve been waiting for an opportunity to help."

Plumbers in the Lansing area — union or non-union — who are eager to assist Local 333 are encouraged to meet at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the union office, 5405 S. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. For more information, call 393-5480. Plumbers can also meet at 8 a.m. outside the office of Plumber and Pipefitters Local 370, 5500 W. Pierson, in Flushing. For more information, call (810) 720-5243.

Those who want to help will be sent out to different parts of Flint to help residents' water systems in their homes. The effort is expected to continue on weekly basis until there is no longer a need, said Ben Ranger, the Michigan Pipe Trades Association's executive director.

Ranger estimates there is a need for about 6,000 new faucets in Flint homes so residents can use the free water filters provided by the state.

“This should be all hands on deck," Ranger said of plumber turnout he wants to help Flint. "This is our state.”

Lead contamination in Flint's drinking water prompted Gov. Rick Snyder to activate the Michigan National Guard earlier this month and seek federal assistance. Problems with Flint's drinking water occurred after the city switched to Flint River water, a move made while emergency managers were in charge. The city has since returned to buying water from Detroit, which comes from Lake Huron, but damaged pipes are still leaching lead.

There are an estimated 15,000 or more lead water service lines in Flint. Snyder said at a news conference Wednesday the state first intends to make the existing pipes safe by rebuilding protective coating between the lead and the water. The state is providing residents with water filters for the faucets in their homes for free.

Granger, a member of Local 370 in Flushing, said he could get plenty of plumbers and pipefitters to help replace lead service lines in Flint if they got the OK from federal and state government officials to begin work.

"If called upon, we could easily have at least 200 plumbers in Flint next week," Granger said. “We’re trying to harness the energy of our experience. The bottled water donations are helpful, but we’d prefer to deliver water through pipe.”

The replacement process, however, appears to be a difficult and expensive one.

Unlike Lansing's Board of Water & Light, a city-owned utility, the city doesn't own the lead service lines that go from the curb to the meters used by homes. Those lines are technically owned by homeowners. How those repairs will be paid for is not clear.

The BWL has nearly eliminated Lansing's lead water service lines since an alarm raised in 2004 caused the utility to launch a massive program to replace them with copper lines by 2017. Stephen Serkaian, a spokesman for the utility, said last week there are about 500 lead lines that still need to be replaced with copper lines.

An outpouring of support for Flint during its water crisis has led to an outpouring of support from Michigan residents and beyond. As of Thursday evening, Lansing resident Carrie Davis, 29, had raised nearly $19,000 online to purchase water for Flint. To make a donation, visit http://bit.ly/1Re11AV.

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.

Other ways to help

To Flint Community Schools: Call the district's finance office at (810) 767-6030 about cash donations. Bottled water drop-offs can be coordinated by calling (810) 760-1310.

To United Way of Genesee County: Visit unitedwaygenesee.org and click on the "GIVE" button. There's an option to support the Flint Water Project. Call (810) 232-8121 for details. A new phase for outreach is investment in services to help residents who have been exposed to contaminated water.

To Catholic Charities of Genesee County: For information on making cash or bottled water donations to aid soup kitchens and warming centers, call (810) 785-6911. 

To help Flint community activists who are delivering water: Call Melissa Mays at (810) 423-3435.