Flint city council to consider signing on to water pipeline project

A decision could come tonight that may determine if the city of Flint will look elsewhere to get its tap water.

The Flint city council will consider whether to sign on with a project to build a pipeline to carry water from Lake Huron to Genesee, Lapeer and Sanilac Counties.

The quarter billion dollar Karegnondi Water Authority project has been in the discussion stages for years, but actual work on the pipeline may begin soon.

Supporters say the city of Flint could save millions of dollars a year by switching to the new pipeline. Flint has been paying more in recent years for water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

But the city of Flint has an emergency manager.  And there are questions about whether the city council has the authority to commit the city to the pipeline project.

Emergency manager Ed Kurtz has not weighed in on the pipeline project. But Flint’s mayor believes the city council has the authority to OK the project, as long as it acts before the state’s new, broader emergency manager law takes effect later this month.