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 Buy Photo Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo 
 
 Flint Mayor Karen Weaver on Tuesday outlined an estimated $55-million public works project expected to begin within a month to remove Flint's lead-contaminated pipes from the water distribution system. First priority will be given to high-risk households with pregnant women and children, Weaver said at a news conference at City Hall. "In order for Flint residents to once again have confidence and trust in the water coming from their faucets, all lead pipes in the city of Flint need to be replaced," she said. "The success of the Fast Start plan will require coordination between the city, state and federal officials as well as funding from the Michigan Legislature, Congress or both. “I’m asking Gov. Snyder and the state to partner on this effort. We’ll let the investigations determine who is to blame for Flint’s water crisis, but I’m focused on solving it,” Weaver said. “It’s going to take time to get this done, but we’re going to move quickly.” 
 
 State officials disconnected Flint from Detroit's water supply in 2014 and began using the Flint River to save money. Lead Pipes Not Being Removed in Flint 
 
 The city is no longer using the river water, but the damaged pipes are still a threat and the entire city is relying on bottled and filtered water for drinking, cooking and even bathing in some cases. "We are in the process of reaching out to the state for their assistance of the data and of the planning itself with funding, as Mayor Weaver also said," McDaniel said. There are up to 25,000 service lines containing lead that run between water mains and homes in Flint. The city said most large facilities are served by "high-capacity cast iron water services," and not the typical lines found in residential water services. Of the $55 million, about $1.5 million will go toward administration and logistics, according to the city, which said personnel costs are estimated at $900,000 and operations costs are projected to be $600,000. But he said that removing the pipes — which experts have told NBC News is the only permanent solution to the lead problem — isn't on his "short-term" agenda. Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead in April 2014 after the city, while under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, switched its source to the Flint River as a temporary cost-cutting move and the state Department of Environmental Quality failed to require the addition of needed corrosion-control chemicals. "We deserve new pipes because we did not deserve what happened."
– Less than two weeks ago, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said replacing Flint's lead-coated pipes in the city's water distribution system wasn't on his "short-term agenda" and that coating the pipes with phosphates might serve as a stopgap. But it looks like Flint is moving on with or without him: On Tuesday, Mayor Karen Weaver announced a $55 million public works project that will replace all of the city's water pipes, and the process will begin within a month, the Detroit Free Press reports. "All lead pipes need to be replaced," Weaver said at a press conference, per WDIV. "We deserve new pipes because we did not deserve what happened." The mayor and other officials are hoping the project can be completed within a year with a few dozen crews and under "optimal conditions," per Weaver. Around 15,000 lines will be replaced, and "high-risk" households (those with children and pregnant women) will be first on the list. Funding for the project will come from the Michigan Legislature and the US Congress, Weaver said. And other money may show up as well: As the FBI continues to investigate the crisis, high-ranking public officials have asked for funds all the way up to the federal level. US Rep. Candice Miller, for instance, wants the EPA to hand over a $1 billion emergency grant. "We're going to restore safe drinking water one house at a time, one child at a time, until the lead pipes are gone," Weaver said, per WDIV. (A Flint family is suing the city after their 2-year-old tested positive for lead poisoning.)