Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
Even though Michigan is considered the Great Lake State, bordered by four of the five Great Lakes, and everyone needs freshwater, especially during a global pandemic, some Detroit suburbs like Oak Park and Hazel Park are resuming water shutoff policies after the statewide moratorium expired on March 31.
The passing on July 29 of former U.S. Senator Carl Levin of Michigan is a solemn moment that presents an opportunity to honor his work to protect the Great Lakes. The longest-serving U.S. Senator in Michigan’s history, Levin consistently, quietly, and effectively crafted federal legislation and funding to benefit the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem.
The many chemical contaminants in Michigan’s groundwater, coupled with the lack of environmentally sustainable federal and state chemical policies, continue to put Michigan at risk. An example is trichloroethylene (TCE), a cancer-causing manufactured chemical that has contaminated groundwater at more than 300 locations in Michigan. In 2020, Minnesota became the first state in the country to outlaw many remaining uses of TCE. Michigan should follow suit.
FLOW intern Henry Ludwig recently found myself stuck in a downpour in the streets of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and witnessed green infrastructure in action. Green infrastructure represents a return to nature with hopes of fixing the problems of a human-centered world. The infrastructure solutions take a step back from the traditional vision of civil engineering. Rather than attempting to exert control over water, it gives water natural places to flow.
“FLOW is responsible for the major success we’ve had so far as a movement in halting the Line 5 pipeline that crosses the Straits of Mackinac,” said FLOW senior policy advisor Dave Dempsey in this testimonial about the impact we’ve had during the past decade.
In recognition of the critical importance of the Great Lakes and the rule of law, citizens and communities battling the existential threat of climate change won an important victory when the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced June 23 they will conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 oil tunnel.
On the heels of the “once in 100 years” flooding event in 2014, nearly seven inches of rainfall overwhelmed the City of Detroit’s wastewater treatment facilities on Friday, June 25, and the following morning. As a result, rain and sewer water flooded basements all across the city. As soon as neighbors began reporting flooded basements, organizers with SW Detroit Community Care (SWDCC), a mutual aid coalition operating within Southwest Detroit, sprang into action, recruiting volunteers through social media to clean basements for whomever needed it.
Author Timothy Mulherin’s new book, Sand, Stars, Wind, & Water: Field Notes from Up North, sees the Grand Traverse region through the eyes of a frequent visitor who has fallen in love with its natural beauty and character. In this interview with FLOW, Mulherin talks about what inspired him to write the book—and the good and bad he sees on his saunters along the shoreline.
FLOW Board member Bob Otwell and his wife Laura have on several trips to the American southwest observed how water is undersupplied and overused. These experiences reminded him about one of the primary reasons he joined FLOW’s Board—to help ensure that Great Lakes water stays in our watershed and is not diverted to dry, Southwestern and Western states.
“It was 10 years ago that I first met Jim Olson, and I invited him to be a guest speaker for Green Elk Rapids,” recalls Royce Ragland, the organization’s co-founder and a founding FLOW board member. “He talked about his favorite thing—the public trust. I was just so taken with the idea. It’s an old thought. It combines everything from policy to stewardship to theology to philosophy. I loved it.”
