State officials on Friday approved Flint's participation in a project that would tap into Lake Huron and remove tens of thousands of customers from the Detroit water system, Steve Pardo reports in The Detroit News.
The approval is subject to review — by Monday — of a final offer from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
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Friday:
Detroit's water department spokesman declares it "the greatest water war in Michigan's history."
The cash-strapped city of Flint sees a chance to save its residents millions.
Pardo decribes a plan by Flint and other Genesee County communities to break away from Detroit' system and draw their own water from Lake Huron via a new pipeline.
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department officials warned that residents throughout the region will be saddled with higher rates if Flint succeeds with the project.
Flint represents 6 percent of Detroit's total water revenue, said Bill Johnson, Detroit water department spokesman. The department stands to lose about $22 million immediately if Flint separates, and the "fixed cost component" of that will have to be spread across the remaining 3 million water department customers, he said.
