Michigan is called the Great Lakes state but is a poor steward of the sixth Great Lake, the water lying beneath Michigan’s ground. During National Groundwater Awareness Week March 10-16, FLOW is calling for state-level reforms to strengthen protection of Michigan’s groundwater. The Invisible Resource Groundwater is an immense and invisible resource. The volume of… groundwater-awareness-week-matters/" title="ReadFLOW’s Groundwater Awareness Week: What It Is and Why It Matters”>Read more »
There are an estimated 2.8 million trillion gallons of groundwater, 30.1 percent of the world’s freshwater. An estimated 79.6 billion gallons of groundwater is withdrawn daily, or 26 percent of the water withdrawn in the U.S. From 2010 to 2015, groundwater use in the United States increased by 8.3% while surface water use declined by… groundwater/" title="ReadFACTS ABOUT GROUNDWATER“>Read more »
Jim Olson, President, Legal Advisor Dave Dempsey, Senior Policy AdvisorLiz Kirkwood, Executive DirectorFLOW (For Love of Water)Office: (231) 944-1568, Cell: (570) 872-4956 Email: Jim@FLOWforWater.orgEmail: Dave@FLOWforWater.orgEmail: Liz@FLOWforWater.orgWeb: www.FLOWforWater.org Michigan Groundwater Emergency FLOW Report Calls for Major Policy Reforms to ProtectThe Drinking Water Source for 45% of Michiganders Traverse City, Michigan – Michigan’s groundwater resources are in… groundwater-emergency/" title="ReadMichigan Groundwater Emergency”>Read more »
“Water Justice Flows Like Water.”[1] Law professor Sprout D. Kapua’ala, borrowing from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech in 1968 (“justice rolling down like waters”), captures decades of conflict over the streams and waters of Hawai’i, siphoned and dried from a century of withdrawals and diversion ditches cut across the landscape for… groundwater-streams-lakes-economies-quality-life/" title="ReadThe Public Trust Doctrine Percolates into State Courts, Legislators, and Commissions to Protect Groundwater, Streams, Lakes, Economies and Quality of Life”>Read more »
Bob Otwell, FLOW Board of Directors December 2016 Most of us in northern Michigan drink groundwater and use it to bathe. Outside of metro Detroit, the majority of Michigan’s public water supplies along with water in rural homes comes from groundwater. Groundwater also is used to water golf courses and supply the growing thirst of… groundwater-invisible-precious/" title="ReadGroundwater – Invisible but Precious”>Read more »
“Vermont leaders pioneer public trust principles to address systemic pollution and water quantity issues in this century. The MTBE case is groundbreaking, because it demonstrates how the public trust principles advocated and demonstrated FLOW’s projects will work for the Great Lakes and beyond, including addressing the toxic algae and algal blooms in Lake Erie, invasive… groundwater-rutland-herald/" title="ReadGood news about groundwater – Rutland Herald”>Read more »
The child who grew up in the natural wonderland of the Traverse City region is now the sage of the environmental community in Michigan. On Wednesday, February 26, FLOW founder Jim Olson, whose legal work transformed both the law and the landscape, turns 80. It’s a milestone that gives Jim the opportunity to look back,… Read more »
Nitrate pollution might not be a familiar term, but it could be affecting your drinking water more than you realize. Nitrates are a naturally occurring form of nitrogen found in soil and water, but human activities, particularly industrial agriculture, have significantly increased nitrate levels in rivers, lakes, and groundwater. This invisible, odorless, and taste-free contaminant… Read more »
This winter, areas downwind of the Great Lakes have received enormous amounts of lake effect snow. Can climate change be occurring when storms are piling up record snow? Yes – in fact, this phenomenon is entirely consistent with climate change models. Lake-effect snow develops when cold air moves over a relatively warm large body of… Read more »
Our programs Who we are Our story is about water. 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water – and the need to educate citizens and leaders about protecting the Great Lakes as a commons held in public trust now and for future generations. At FLOW (For Love of Water), we believe the enduring ideas… Read more »
