Governor Whitmer Awards MI Clean Water Grants to Help Six Communities Protect and Improve Drinking Water, Upgrade Water Infrastructure

Press Release

Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer awarded more than $5 million under the MI Clean Water Plan to help six communities improve drinking water systems and ensure clean and reliable drinking water for residents.

"The MI Clean Water Plan continues to make investments empowering communities to identify and replace lead water lines, clean up toxic contamination, expand sewer systems, address failing septic systems, and keep water affordable always," said Governor Whitmer. "We have invested over $120 million under the MI Clean Water Plan into water infrastructure, and the Building Michigan Together Plan I signed earlier this year will invest nearly an additional $2 billion, ensuring that we can deliver clean drinking water to every Michigan family, school, and small business. I will work with anyone to build up Michigan's water infrastructure and protect every Michigander's right to clean, affordable drinking water."

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) awarded Drinking Water Infrastructure Grants (DWI) to the following four communities:

City of Ann Arbor

$1.38 million for projects to facilitate overall drinking water system upgrades.

"The City of Ann Arbor is excited to receive a Clean Water Grant from the State of Michigan to support improvements to its raw water pump station", said City Administrator Milton Dohoney. "This station was constructed in 1949, and this project will allow the city to replace aging infrastructure. Once complete, this project will improve water supply reliability for the City's 125,000 customers."

East Lansing -- Meridian Water and Sewer Authority

$2 million for projects to facilitate overall drinking water system upgrades.

City of Owosso

$403,500 for projects to facilitate overall drinking water system upgrades.

"We are very grateful for receiving these funds and they will be put to good use immediately, making our water better and safer for the community," said Owosso Mayor Chris Eveleth. Thank you to the Governor and all those involved in making this happen. Like many cities around the state, this funding is needed and we're happy with any infrastructure help we can get!"

Village of Shelby

$621,000 for projects to facilitate overall drinking water system upgrades.

In addition, Benton Charter Township received $690,000 in a Consolidation and Contamination Risk Reduction (C2R2) grant to remove or reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or other contaminants, as defined under state or federal drinking water regulations, or efforts to consolidate systems or connect private residential wells to a local municipal system.

"The MI Clean Water Grant means a lot to the residents and community people who use our services in the township, ensuring a healthy work and living environment for all who drink or cook with our water," said Township Supervisor Cathy Yates. "This is a priority for our township: to ensure all within the boundaries have access to clean and safe water."

The City of Romulus received $456,300 in a Drinking Water Asset Management (DWAM) grant to help drinking water suppliers develop and update asset management plans, and/or create a process to identify and work toward the removal of hazardous materials that are part of the distribution system, such as lead service lines.

"We are extremely excited about being approved for the Drinking Water Assessment grant," said Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight. "Without the financial support from the State of Michigan, we would not be able to fund this program that will assist us in assessing our drinking water distribution system. If not for this grant opportunity, the burden of funding such a program would have been fallen on the shoulders of our residents."

MI Clean Water Plan

Governor Whitmer's bipartisan 2020 MI Clean Water Plan directed $102.1 million in federal funds for lead service line replacement and $105 million for general fund programs that address PFAS or other contaminants, planning and rate studies, asset management plan development, and lead service line identification. To date, the plan has invested a total of $124 million:

$56.4 million for 19 municipalities for lead service line replacement.
$35.5 million for 105 communities to study their water systems infrastructure and identify potential hazards.
$21.6 million for 10 communities to reduce PFAS contamination.
$8.6 million for eight communities to improve their drinking water infrastructure.
$1.9 million for 27 communities to implement water rate plans to support their asset management plan, or watershed plans supporting long-term infrastructure needs to address public health and environmental risks.
Building Michigan Together Plan

The MI Clean Water Plan is not alone in supporting communities' water infrastructure needs. On March 30, Governor Whitmer signed into law the nearly $5 billion bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan, which makes the state's largest-ever investment to rebuild and upgrade infrastructure, including water, transportation, high-speed internet, and more. It promises to grow the economy, benefit families statewide, and create up to 27,000 jobs to replace 20,000 lead water service lines. More than $1.9 billion for water infrastructure improvements in the plan includes:

At least $341 million to replace lead service lines, including 100% of lead service lines in Benton Harbor.
$40.5 million to help communities tackle toxic contaminants such as PFAS in drinking water and wastewater. That includes $18 million for the C2R2 grant program, $8.5 million of which is earmarked for Oscoda, a Michigan flashpoint for PFAS contamination near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
$20 million to help drinking water suppliers develop and update asset management plans and take stock of materials in their distribution systems, such as lead service lines.
ELGE Investments in Michigan Communities

EGLE invests more than half of its budget in Michigan communities in the form of financial assistance to address water infrastructure and other efforts to protect the environment and public health. Learn about funding opportunities for Michigan communities or see an interactive grants and loans dashboard on EGLE's Grants and Financing webpage.

Source