Flint residents told to take part in flushing program

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Flint recently recommended that Flint residents take part in a flushing program that will help recovery efforts for the city’s drinking water system.

To flushing program will serve two purposes — flushing loose lead particles from both the service lines and from home plumbing and building up an orthophosphate coating in the pipes, which is a protective coating that controls corrosion and helps prevent lead leaching.

To take part in the flushing program, which will begin on May 1, Flint residents should run cold water from their bathtub faucets, with the taps fully open, for five minutes. The EPA stresses that residents should use the bathtub faucet rather than the shower head, since the faucet has a higher flow rate. Residents should also run cold water from their kitchen faucets for five minutes, after bypassing or removing their filters, which should be turned back on or replaced after flushing. This process should be repeated every day for 14 days.

Flint residents can take part in the flushing program at no personal cost, as they will be reimbursed for the associated costs and will continue to receive water credits from the state.