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Thanks,

Guys, here’s an update and some clarification on the lead situation in Flint. Please limit this information to internal for now. By the tenants of the federal statute, the city is in compliance for lead and copper. That aside, they have not optimized their water treatment (for the most part, this means adding phosphates to minimize the degree that the water Ph mobilizes lead and copper in peopie’s home plumbing). Compliance with the standard started with testing. A June-December run of tests (all in homes with lead in their premise plumbing) concluded in December. Another January ~ June round of sampling concluded last month. Everything checks out in terms of compliance, but now the next step is optimizing the water supply. So, In about two weeks, DEQ will be sending a formal communication about the optimizing issue. The federal program has long timelines for action. A community water supplier gets 18 months to study the options, and two years thereafter to implement water system optimization measures. My point: Conceivably, by the time we're halfway through the first timeline, the city will begin using a new water source with KWA ... and conceivably, the whole process starts all over again. In terms of near-future issues, the bottom line is that residents of Flint do not need to worry about lead in their water supply, and DEQ’s recent sampling does not indicate an eminent health threat from lead or copper. That said, anyone with lead pipes in their premise plumbing (this translates to tens of thousands of homes in our older urban centers, btw) should at least be aware that they have them, and to some limited degree that’s going to impart minute parts per billion of lead in water no matter what. Its why nobody uses lead water pipes anymore. The long version of this note is below. Let's connect next week. I'd like some thoughts about what more the state could be doing — most immediately, to convey the results of our testing and tell the story to the residents of Flint in an effort to quell some fears. Thanks! b xxxEND_PAGE:treasury01_b29_4586_4669_34