Benton Harbor lead crisis: Dashboard shows progress in service line replacements

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — An updated online dashboard shows more progress in the effort to replace thousands of lead service lines in Benton Harbor.

Testing results of the city's drinking water over the last three years show lead concentrations at least 50% above the federal action level. Thus, Benton Harbor residents have been encouraged to use bottled water for cooking, drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing foods, and mixing powdered infant formula.

• Previous coverage: Emails, documents show government failures leading up to Benton Harbor lead water crisis

In October, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for the replacement of the city's lead service lines in 18 months, providing just under $20 million to the city to speed up the initiative.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) said in a news release that an online dashboard has been updated to show the accelerated progress of replacing the lead service lines. As of Wednesday, 519 lines have been replaced or verified as non-lead, including 75 lines that have been replaced in the past 30 days,

• Online dashboard: Click here to view progress

Crews still need to replace or verify more than 3,800 lines.

• Read more: Benton Harbor residents reminded of resources to reduce lead exposure risk

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Abonmarche Consultants, Inc. created the dashboard, which is updated every day to show the number of lead service lines replaced or verified, the number of lines remaining, the composition of service lines, and other info.