After three years of contamination, residents affected by Flint, Michigan’s water calamity may finally see some relief. W.T. Stevens Construction, a Michigan-based black-owned construction company, has been hired to help replace 18,0000 corroded residential water pipes in the city, Blavity reports.
According to Blackbusiness.org, the family business was founded in the ‘90s by W.T. Stevens, a local entrepreneur and youth mentor, who died in 2002. Stevens’ daughter, Rhonda Grayer, has since taken over as vice president, while her husband, former NBA player, Jeff Grayer, serves as project manager.
Both are natives of Flint.
“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,” the retired professional athlete told TNJ.com.
To complete the mega-project, the company has hired over a dozen new employees, filling everything from clerical and labor, to plumbing positions. Videographers have also been brought on to document the piping overhaul, and the condition of the pipes that will be replaced.
State and federal funds will be used to pay the multi-million dollar contract, which is “biggest project” that the company has ever landed, and increased their gross revenue by around 70 percent.
“I will tell you that it is really exciting and the most important part of it is the opportunity to employ people who may not have had other opportunities,” Rhonda said in an interview.
W.T. Stevens Construction is one of only four companies contracted to fix Flint’s piping issue. The company hopes to help replace 6,000 pipes by the end of the year, and 18,000 by December 2019.