This Black-Owned Construction Firm Will Replace 18,000+ Contaminated Water Pipes In Flint
"Frustrated" doesn't even begin to explain the years that have gone by and Flint, Michigan's residents still have no access to clean water. Along with the recent developments regarding the federal magistrate mandated settlement, W.T. Stevens Construction, a Black-owned construction firm, has been awarded a multi-million dollar service contract to replace more than 18,000 lead corroded pipes across the city of Flint, perBlackBusiness.org. The construction firm, made-up of 25 employees, is one of just four companies recently contracted under a court order to complete the project.
Starting in 2014, the Flint water crisis started when over 100,000 residents were potentially exposed to high levels of lead in the drinking water, causing a declaration of federal state of emergency in 2016. Flint residents were instructed to use only bottled or filtered water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. While water quality has returned to acceptable levels this year, residents are told to continue to use bottled or filtered water until all the lead pipes have been replaced.
In March 2017, a $97 million settlement (from both state and federal funds) was approved by a federal magistrate mandating that thousands of pipes be replaced. Additionally, the state of Michigan has committed to reserving an additional $10 million in case the job requires it.
W.T. Stevens was founded by the late Black entrepreneur, W.T. Stevens back in the 1990's. His daughter, Rhonda Grayer, now serves as vice president of the company and works along with her husband Jeff Grayer, who serves as a project manager. Both are natives of Flint, Michigan, and Jeff is also a former NBA player who played for the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks for more than 10 years. So, their history with Michigan is richly cemented.
“This is home for me and my family and I wasn't going to sit back and do nothing as a person or as a businessman,” Mr. Grayer said in an interview with TNJ.com. “This is the biggest project our company has ever done and as a result of the water line contract our gross revenues have increased by about 70 percent,” he continued. His expectation is to have 6,000 water lines replaced in the city by the end of this year. “The target is to have all 18,000 lead corroded residential pipes replaced by December 2019,” he said.
“It is really exciting, and the most important part of it is the opportunity to employ people who may not have had other opportunities," said Mrs. Grayer in a separate interview withTheHubFlint.com. The Grayers' passion to help rebuild the community is palpable. “This is a major project that will ensure public safety and start rebuilding trust between the city and the community... something that has been missing awhile," noted Mr. Grayer.
And how would W.T. Stevens feel about this if he were alive? Mrs. Grayer comments, "Now, it is definitely a family business. We all do something. I think he would be very, very proud of where we are at this time."
