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Campaign urges Flint residents to flush pipes

Posted at 5:18 PM, May 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-13 07:51:30-04

For 10 minutes the next two weeks Flint homeowners are being urged to let their water run.

Flushing her pipes is something JoAnn Kirby has been doing for weeks.

"It was yellow and a lot of stuff had come out of there and you could see it's especially after the water drained out of the tub it stuck," Kirby said. "It was in the bottom of the tub."

After a week of flushing out the water. Kirby saw it go from yellow to, "very clear, very, very, clear. It's been clear ever since I've been doing it," explains Kirby.

But JoAnn tells Fox 47 News she knows she's part of only a few Flint residents to do so.

"I think a lot of them aren't doing it because they think they're going to get charge for it even though it says in the pamphlet that they won't get charged for it," Kirby explained. "So really the trust is not there yet."

Because of the lack of trust in some and the drop in participation since the beginning of the May campaign.

The state is rolling out a new campaign, letting homeowners know they won't have to foot the bill.

In the 30-second commercial, the narrator explains that the 10-minute flushing of both bath and sink faucets will be free to residents, "the filters are working but this will help clear and coat the pipes at no cost to you."

Governor Snyder echoed the same thing during Thursday's press conference in Flint.

"The state will be providing resources for the city. So essentially May will be a free water month," Snyder said. "With respect to the water and sewer bill there won't be a charge."

EPA on-site coordinator, Mark Durno says that 100-percent of the sampling of filtered and unfiltered water have all come back below the EPA's "action level" and that the continued flushing is more now than ever.

"As we've been messaging for months now we have full confidence in the usage of these filters. The water coming through these filters is good to drink," Durno said.

Mayor Weaver said the flushing campaign along with her FAST Start initiative will allow more lead free pipes in the city, sooner.