Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
Michigan public beach advisories were up during the 2024 season compared to 2023, with the difference likely due to the timing and intensity of storms that washed polluted runoff into rivers and lakes. A total of 127 advisories and closures were reported for 106 beaches in thirty-eight counties, by twenty-eight local health departments in 2023…. Read more »
FLOW, Great Lakes Business Network, and Sierra Club File Joint Amici Brief in Nessel v. Enbridge Lawsuit, Dismantling Enbridge’s Allegations and Defending State Sovereignty Contact: Carrie La Seur, FLOW Legal Director carrie@flowforwater.org (231) 944-1568 Traverse City, Mich. – On December 2, 2024, For Love of Water (FLOW), Great Lakes Business Network (GLBN), and Sierra… Read more »
Contact: Carrie La Seur, FLOW Legal Director carrie@flowforwater.org (231) 944-1568 Traverse City, Mich.— The nonprofit law and policy center For Love of Water (FLOW) and its allies Detroit Riverkeeper, Friends of the Detroit River, the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, have successfully petitioned for a Public Health Assessment for… Read more »
By Carrie La Seur FLOW Legal Director — When I ask them how they feel about the Pine, their local waters – , people who’ve lived in Gratiot County, Michigan all their lives – remember childhood summers spent swimming in the mill pond behind the dam at Alma. That’s not possible anymore. Fall rains and… Read more »
The current chair of Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission (NRC), Tom Baird is a retired attorney who was born and raised in Grand Rapids, practiced law in Lansing, and currently lives in Elk Rapids. Throughout life his passions have been conservation and the environment. This led to various roles as board member of FLOW and in… Read more »
What is the “lame duck” session in Lansing? Lame duck is a legislative session that begins after a November election but before new members take the oath of office in January. ‘Lame duck’ refers to the fact that many legislators voting in November and December are retiring or were defeated and are considered lame ducks…. Read more »
FLOW is pleased to announce that Sarah Naperala has been elected to chair of its Board of Directors. Sarah has served on the board for nine years, and held the office of board secretary during her previous term. Sarah is an organizational consultant with over 20 years of experience in the not-for-profit, research, technology, and… Read more »
By Liz Kirkwood FLOW Executive Director — Michigan, the Great Lakes state, sits in the heart of 20 percent of the planet’s fresh surface water, and 95 percent of the U.S.’s fresh water supply. All Michiganders will tell you of their deep connection to these lakes. And now, Big Tech and other national manufacturing businesses are… Read more »
Out of sight, out of mind: measures designed to shield public from contamination push costs on future generations Here in Michigan, 45% of the population gets its drinking water from groundwater, including two million who rely on private wells. Groundwater also feeds streams and rivers, and sustains wetlands. It is an invaluable resource, but Michigan… Read more »
Every four years – including this month – voters in the overwhelming majority of Michigan counties elect a drain commissioner on the partisan ballot. But many of those voters likely do not understand the office. Although the office of drain commissioner was explicitly created by the Legislature in the 1890s to drain wetlands, today that… Read more »
