Michigan's drinking water problems are mounting in number and complexity: There are 1.5 million people in Michigan who have been drinking water contaminated with PFAS. There are children who cannot drink from their school water fountains because of high levels of lead. These threats are real. But there are some real solutions our lawmakers could enact now.
Use this form to tell your state legislator we need funding for drinking water now!
There are currently proposals before the Michigan state legislature that, if passed, will provide vital funding towards some of the most pressing threats to Michigan's drinking water safety. If adopted by the legislature, the proposals would go into effect immediately and put $180 million in a one-time investment towards improving drinking water. Here’s what’s in them:
- $61.5 million to the school aid fund for hydration stations. These are filtered water-bottle filling stations that are effective at greatly reducing lead levels in water. Some stations could also have granulated activated carbon filtration which can help filter out "long chain" PFAS.
- $37.5 million for Lead and Copper Rule implementation. This would go in part towards replacing lead pipes which carry water into the homes of many Michiganders across the state.
- $30 million for PFAS remediation and addressing PFAS in the public water supplies.
- $40 million for drinking water revolving fund loan assistance to help local governments invest in needed upgrades to aging drinking water infrastructure.
- $7.5 million for asset management planning so that local governments have a full idea of what their existing water infrastructure is and can better prioritize funding to maintain and repair that infrastructure.
- $5 million to support water system optimization to ensure that water systems are in excellent operating condition at all times.
The threats to our drinking water from contamination and aging infrastructure are fixable only if we marshal funding levels that match the scale of the problem. While the $180 million is not ongoing funding, it is a critical first step in providing needed resources to state agencies and local governments to tackle water contamination and aging, unsafe infrastructure.
Use this simple form to tell your state legislator that you support funding for safe drinking water.
State budgets are tight and there are many competing funding needs. To get these critical proposals across the finish line, our legislature needs to hear from you that funding for safe drinking water should be a priority.
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