Flint to install $1.5M filter to improve water quality

Flint — The city of Flint plans to install a $1.5 million granulated active-charcoal filter by mid-July in an effort to address concerns over its water quality.

The new carbon-filter system is expected to improve city water by removing contaminants until the city begins treating water from Lake Huron instead of the Flint River. The Flint Journal reports city officials hope to switch to lake water, which has lower levels of total organic carbon, such as leaves or dirt, sometime next year.

City Administrator Natasha Henderson says filters won’t be needed to treat later water.

The city’s Water Quality Action Plan seeks to fix its troubled municipal system and ultimately avoid further violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Federal regulators have cited Flint for high levels of a disinfectant by-product.