OTSEGO, Mich. — An Otsego neighbor says she’s still waiting for answers about when the city will replace water service lines on her street that are made of lead.
WATCH: Otsego neighbor questions timeline for lead water line replacements
Wendy Sines, who has lived on West Morrell Street her entire life, says she began receiving letters from the City of Otsego in 2022 notifying her that some or all of her water service line was made of lead.
The letters said the line would be replaced, but Sines had yet to receive a clear timeline for when that work would happen.
“We all deserve to be safe and have clean water to drink,” Sines said.
Since learning about her water service line, Sines says she has taken steps to protect herself, including installing a reverse osmosis system for her drinking water and adding another filter for the water she uses to shower.
“Before we got the reverse osmosis system, we bought bottled water,” Sines said.
She says she has repeatedly asked city leaders when the pipes on her street would be replaced, but has continued to hear that her street is next.
“I hear ‘you’re next,’ that was three years ago,” Sines said
Sines says the annual letters have continued to arrive without a firm timeline for the replacement work.
Otsego secures $4 million loan for service line replacements
The City of Otsego says Morrell Street is among roughly 600 water service lines in the city made of lead or galvanized pipe, which can pose a risk of lead contamination.
The city recently secured a $4 million, interest-free loan to help replace the remaining lead and galvanized service lines.
However, city officials say paperwork and other administrative requirements could delay completion of the project until June 2027 at the earliest, with work potentially extending into 2028.
When FOX 17 shared that timeline with Sines, she said waiting another year or two was unacceptable.
“In two more years, really? No, that’s not okay,” Sines said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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