Lead-tainted service lines at 973 homes have been replaced so far in Phase 4 of Mayor Karen Weaver’s FAST Start initiative. The work is part of the mayor’s plan to replace lead-tainted pipes at 6,000 Flint homes in 2017.

Crews from four area companies are replacing lead and galvanized service lines leading from the street to the water meter in residents’ homes during this fourth phase of FAST Start, extending the mayor’s efforts to restore safe, clean drinking water to Flint residents. Overall, service lines to 1,871 homes have been replaced since FAST Start began in March 2016.

In addition, crews discovered copper service lines at 479 homes that did not need to be replaced. The FAST Start initiative plans to soon begin checking the composition of 4,000 service lines using hydro-excavation so that pipe replacement crews can avoid digging up copper service lines and concentrate just on homes with lead and galvanized pipes.

To be eligible for service line replacements, residents must have an active water account. They also must have signed a consent card giving permission for the work to be done. In rental homes, both the owner and the tenant must sign consent cards. Residents are urged to sign the consent cards as soon as possible, so crews working in their neighborhood can replace their service lines.

The goal is to have all of Flint’s lead-tainted service lines — nearly 20,000 — replaced by 2020, with 6,000 pipes replaced annually over the next three years.

More information about the FAST Start initiative can be found on the City of Flint FAST Start Facebook page, as well as on Instagram, Twitter and the City of Flint website www.cityofflint.com.