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Flint Mayor Looks To Stay With Detroit Water System; Remove 'Public Health Fear'

FLINT (WWJ) - Flint residents weighing-in on the city's plan to maintain service with Detroit's Great Lakes Water Authority -- a move announced earlier this week by Mayor Karen Weaver.

Weaver is recommending the city stay permanently tapped into Detroit's water system -- and pull out of a regional deal that had been planned.

"It used to be DSWD and now it's Great Lakes -- we're back there -- we don't want to go through the process of having that anxiety and fear when you switch water sources so we're ready to stay right where we are," Weaver told WWJ's Jon Hewett.

The city was able to get out of a $7-million-a-year bond obligation with the Karegondi Water Authority (KWA) -- which was to have provided Flint's public water moving forward, before this week's announcement.

"This is something that never should have happened, but it did. So, to have this announcement that we are staying were we are - it takes away that public health fear and eliminates this debt we were going to owe ... it's just a great thing for us," said Weaver.

The Flint mayor says she'd like to see the money saved used on improving the infrastructure.

There will be a 30-day public comment period on the matter before making the Detroit deal official.

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