During the week of April 15, a group of students from the Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI) in Greenwich Village, Manhattan visited Traverse City and spent time with FLOW executive director, Liz Kirkwood. The students were studying water pollution and plastics, and their research led them to travel to the… Read more »
Here’s a riddle: what resource is critical to our public health, environment and economy and invisible to the naked eye? That should be easy. The answer is groundwater. By its nature out of sight, and therefore out of mind, groundwater is an indispensable resource in Michigan and around the world, but frequently wasted and polluted… Read more »
PDF DOWNLOAD: FLOW Legislative Recommendations for 102nd Legislature As a non-partisan, nonprofit law and policy center, a key component of our mission is to help Michigan’s elected leaders uphold their duties under Article IV, Section 52 of the state constitution, the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, and the public trust doctrine to protect the waters of… Read more »
A nationally significant package of Michigan climate bills enacted in 2023 may herald significant progress on other environmental issues in 2024. That’s the hope that FLOW and partner groups bring to the policy agenda in the year ahead. With legislative majorities and a governor in favor of strengthening Michigan environmental protections, we have opportunities for… Read more »
By guest authors: Alan Steinman, Ph.D.1 and Charlyn Partridge, Ph.D.2 1Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor and 2Associate Professor Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University In an email issued earlier this summer, FLOW quite appropriately noted the beauty and allure of our Great Lakes beaches, and also the potential dangers of entering these… Read more »
Guest post by Michigan State University Extension natural resources and water quality educator, Beth Clawson It is no secret that tossing foreign objects into your toilet or sink drains will plug them up. But did you also know that they plug up your municipal wastewater treatment facilities and home onsite wastewater (septic) systems as well? Across the… Read more »
FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood sat down with the Northern Express to talk about Michigan’s unheralded “Sixth Great Lake”: Groundwater. In the July 31, 2023 issue, learn about Michigan’s hydrological connections, and how FLOW is working to protect all the waters of the Great Lakes Basin through our work on education, septic codes, and polluter pay… Read more »
Editor’s note: Register today! FLOW will host a webinar on Tuesday, March 21, offering legal, scientific, economic, and political perspectives on the urgent need and critical opportunity for Michigan to finally join the rest of the nation in adopting a law to protect public health and fresh water from septic pollution. The online event is… Read more »
Photo of children playing at Lake Michigan by Chelsea Bay Dennis. Editor’s note: Sign up today for FLOW’s twice-monthly e-newsletter for updates on the advancement of these legislative recommendations and take action opportunities in support of keeping water public and protected. Michigan’s 2023-2024 legislative session in Lansing is a chance to apply long-overdue solutions to… Read more »
Photo: Capitol of Michigan. Credit: David Marvin via http://capitol.michigan.gov/. Editor’s note: Register today for FLOW’s March 21 groundwater webinar, “The Case for a Statewide Septic Code: Michigan Must Inspect Septic Systems to Protect Fresh Water.” There is good news in the often-overlooked realm of groundwater protection in Michigan: millions of dollars proposed to study and… Read more »
