Search Results for: groundwater

Pollution Prevention Is Source Water Protection

September 29, 2021

This week is the inaugural Source Water Protection Week. Although the term “source water” is unfamiliar to many, the resource to which it refers is critical to the health of millions of Michigan residents. “Source water” refers to the untreated source of public drinking water supplies. For most municipal supplies in Michigan, source water is drawn from the Great Lakes, including Grand Rapids and metropolitan Detroit, although a few communities have river or inland lake water sources. Several large communities, such as Lansing and Mt. Pleasant, use groundwater as source water and serve about 1.7 million Michigan residents. (For about 1.25 million Michigan households serving 2.6 million residents, private well water is the source of drinking water.)

FLOW Celebrates 10 Years, Honors Jim Olson and Dave Dempsey

September 17, 2021

Traverse City, Mich.—FLOW is celebrating our 10th anniversary of keeping the Great Lakes public and protected and kickstarting the next 10 years. Founded in 2011 by Jim Olson and directed since 2012 by Liz Kirkwood, both environmental attorneys, FLOW is a nonprofit law and policy center based in Traverse City dedicated to protecting the Great… Read more »

SepticSmart Week: Protect It and Inspect It

September 15, 2021

Groundwater, a critical part of Michigan’s water cycle, is out of sight—and so is the groundwater pollution that contaminates thousands of drinking water wells and reaches hundreds of rivers and lakes across the state. Despite its invisibility to the naked eye, groundwater contamination sickens Michigan residents. About 45% of the Wolverine State’s population drinks well water. September 20-24 is SepticSmart Week in Michigan and nationally—an opportunity for owners of property with septic systems to learn about the threat failing systems pose to our water resources, and ways to prevent or minimize such pollution. As our allies protecting Crystal Lake in Benzie County, Michigan, point out: Being septic smart can extend the life of a septic system, keep well water safe, protect the environment and prevent accidents at home.

Giving Thanks for the Cleanup Folks

August 25, 2021

In Michigan’s state government there are talented professionals who would like to be able to say the same about the messes they try to clean up—the estimated 24,000 known contamination sites that degrade the state’s groundwater, soils, rivers, and lakes and even threaten people in their own homes. Working in what’s called the “Remediation and Redevelopment Division” of Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), they work to pinpoint contamination sources, calculate health and environmental risks, work with (or in conflict with) polluters to resolve issues, and oversee the difficult work of removing toxins from the environment.

Liz Kirkwood Reflects: FLOW is Dynamic, Innovative, Creative, Resilient, and Nimble

August 18, 2021

In this video testimonial, FLOW executive director Liz Kirkwood reflects on what prompted her to focus on water law, and her childhood memories of fresh water. During 2021, our 10th anniversary year, FLOW staff, supporters and collaborators are sharing reflections on what our work together has meant to them and to the freshwaters of the Great Lakes Basin.

Green Infrastructure: Using and Mimicking Nature for Climate Resilience

July 19, 2021

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.

3M and PFAS: An Attack on Public Health and Michigan’s Drinking Water Rules

May 10, 2021

It’s not often that two high-ranking officials in Michigan’s state government lash out at a company in strong language. But that’s what happened May 7 when Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Liesl Clark, the director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) slammed 3M.