Water is becoming unaffordable in communities across the state and the nation. The village of Beulah is one of many places across Michigan and the United States where residential water rates have skyrocketed. In fact, water bills have risen by 80 percent in the past decade for millions of Americans. This water affordability crisis is especially acute and painful during the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires frequent washing.
Voting season has already begun in an election that will have much to do with protection of our water in Michigan and the nation. FLOW does not take positions on individual candidates, but we do remind voters to exercise their power in order to protect water and the environment generally. A statewide ballot proposal in Michigan, a Great Lakes agenda for the winner of the presidential election, and races for the Michigan House of Representatives all have clear environmental implications.
On October 1, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced $500 million in investments in clean water. Three features of this investment package are particularly welcome. The severe decline in federal and state grants for water infrastructure since the late 1970s has led to an over-reliance on water ratepayers to repay bonds and loans used to finance much-needed infrastructure projects, resulting in soaring water rates which are unaffordable for households struggling to make ends meet.
July 19, 2023 – The Strait Story: Enbridge Line 5 and Its Trespass on State Waters and Indigenous Lands Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline is over 70 years old and remains a threat to the waters and people of the Great Lakes region. On July 19, FLOW and Oil & Water Don’t Mix presented a special live… Read more »
Water levels in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan won’t drop anytime soon. Private waterfront homeowners rush to save their homes from loss. Citizens seek to preserve their public right to a walkable beach along the shore below the natural high water mark, and the State of Michigan and municipalities struggle to save valuable infrastructure for water, sewage, roads, dams, parks, and recreation.
It’s a sad irony that in Michigan, surrounded by an endowment of 20% of the world’s freshwater in the Great Lakes, there are communities where people don’t have access to clean, affordable, safe drinking water.
Fluctuating Great Lakes water levels are nothing new. Since records have been kept, Great Lakes levels have varied by approximately 6 feet. What is new is a rapid swing from low levels as recently as 2013 to record highs today. There is good reason to believe that this dramatic increase is associated with climate change. The… Read more »
A New FLOW Initiative Helping to Place Water Stewardship at the Heart of All that Communities Do while Addressing Climate Change OUR20 Communities: An Introduction Communities in Michigan and across the Great Lakes basin have begun stepping up to protect fresh water, address climate change, and increase efforts to promote public awareness and build a base… Read more »
By Dave Long Plastic bottles, bags, straws, and packaging are often the focus for reducing plastics in Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. But there’s a smaller, more ubiquitous type of plastic pollution, called microfibers—fibers less than 5 millimeters in length—that may pose a bigger threat and may be harder to solve. Many people are… Read more »
We cannot beat COVID-19 without access to safe water for all of us. Water is a public health issue. Water is a human right. This is what the pandemic tells us. Our work continues. It continues every day. We are developing legal and policy solutions for Michigan’s water infrastructure crisis and addressing the COVID-19 emergency needs, fighting Line 5 to prevent a catastrophic Great Lakes oil spill, educating about the importance of groundwater and the need for septic system pollution-control legislation, elevating the role of government in safeguarding our natural resources, and much more.
