PRESS RELEASE
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
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The $12.6 million in state grants recently awarded to Michigan’s cities, towns and townships to protect public health and the state’s water resources include a new well in the Upper Peninsula and grants to help 28 communities plan water system upgrades, including replacing lead service lines.
The MI Clean Water Plan grants from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and support from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) aim to help communities modernize their aging infrastructure, ensure clean drinking water, and protect Michigan’s environment.
Seventy percent of Michigan residents are served by more than 1,000 municipal wastewater systems, and a similar percentage get their drinking water from municipal water systems. These systems often struggle to find resources to address legacy issues like aging drinking water and stormwater systems and new challenges like new standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), “forever chemicals.”
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Legislature and federal agencies have increased funding for aging water infrastructure – a critical step to ensure these water systems continue to protect public health and the environment, including Michigan’s unparalleled freshwater reserves.
More than half of EGLE’s budget has traditionally gone to cities, towns, villages and other local government agencies in Michigan to fund critical improvements that help them better protect residents and our natural resources.
“Michigan is surrounded by 20 percent of the world’s fresh water and is fortunate to have high-quality rivers, lakes and groundwater that provide drinking water to 10 million residents,” said Phil Roos, director of EGLE. “Maintaining modern, efficient treatment systems is critical to protecting the health of Michiganders. These grants will help communities meet that challenge.”
Grant overview
Recent Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) grants:
- Negaunee/Ishpeming Water Authority for $930,000. This includes the construction of a new well to produce drinking water. The project also includes the construction of a new well house with monitoring and data acquisition system and associated control system, the installation of a potassium permanganate treatment system and the installation of approximately 1,640 m of transmission line to connect the new well to the existing system. The water authority will abandon the existing well once the new well is operational.
Financial support and planning grants:
These grants provide financial support to municipalities to plan and finance water infrastructure throughout the state.
- City of Saline: $81,000
- City of Muskegon: $122,500
- City of Detroit: $500,000
- Village of Hillman: $90,000
- City of Ecorse: $500,000
Technical, business and financial grants:
23 water systems received grants to do work to identify or inspect lead service lines in preparation for their replacement. The process to complete this work includes hydrovacing both sides of each curb and conducting an inside-building survey to document the service line materials. This project includes appropriately restoring the hydrovaced sites to their original condition. Hydrovacing uses a device that uses high-pressure water to cut and liquefy the soil while simultaneously using a high-powered vacuum to remove soil from the excavation.
The recipients and their respective amounts:
- City of Munising: $319,830
- City of Eaton Rapids: $564,000
- Romeo Village: $334,100
- Grosse Pointe Shores Village: $342,700
- City of Galesburg: $600,000
- Village of Beverly Hills: $350,900
- City of East Jordan: $537,189
- City of Marysville: $589,900
- City of Gaylord: $252,163
- Kalkaska Village: $372,049
- City of North Muskegon: $599,680
- City of Southfield: $555,700
- Clair Township: $366,764
- City of South Lyon: $384,530
- City of Northville: $600,000
- City of Ludington: $600,000
- Village of Augusta: $404,600
- Village of Blissfield: $483,000
- City of Clawson: $600,000
- City of Sylvan Lake: $264,900
- City of Manistique: $423,617
- Village of Waldron: $292,550
- City of Berkeley: $570,900
Description of funding sources
State Revolving Fund for Drinking Water: Low-interest loan program that helps public water systems finance the costs of replacing and repairing drinking water infrastructure to protect public health and meet or maintain the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The DWSRF makes loans to water utilities for eligible infrastructure projects. As the water utilities repay their loans, the repayments and interest go back into the DWSRF to support new loans. ARPA funds are awarded as grants and can be used in combination with loans to reduce the financial burden on municipalities in paying off debt for capital improvements. ARPA-funded grants Awarded this fiscal year: $218,398,719.
State Revolving Fund for Clean Water: Used by local municipalities to finance the construction of water pollution control projects. These projects include upgrading and expanding wastewater treatment plants, eliminating overflows from combined or sanitary sewers, new sanitary sewers to reduce existing pollution sources, and other public wastewater treatment measures to improve water quality. The CWSRF can also finance stormwater infrastructure projects to reduce diffuse water pollution sources such as agricultural runoff into lakes, rivers, and wetlands. As with the DWSRF, ARPA funds can be used in conjunction with CWSRF loans, reducing municipalities’ debt for infrastructure improvements. ARPA-funded grants Awarded this fiscal year: $137,982,009.
Drinking water system management program: Provides grants to assist drinking water utilities in developing and updating asset management plans and/or inventorying distribution system materials in accordance with the revised Lead and copper rule. Awarded this fiscal year: $19,695,817.
Contamination risk consolidation and reduction program: Established to assist drinking water systems in removing or reducing PFAS or other contaminants. Award this fiscal year: $20,336,215.
Project programme on significant risks to public health: Protects human and environmental health by preventing direct and continuous discharges of wastewater from surface or groundwater. Award in this fiscal year: $8,000,000.
Grant program for emerging pollutants in small or disadvantaged communities: Provides grants to states and territories for public water systems in small or disadvantaged communities to address emerging contaminants, including PFAS.
Technical, business and financial grants: Funds for work related to the physical inspection of service lines in buildings where lead is suspected but not confirmed, or where the service line material is unknown but likely to contain lead.
Financial support and planning grants: These grants are designed to help communities plan and finance water infrastructure improvements, including replacing lead service lines.
Additional background
Since January 2019, the state of Michigan has invested over $4 billion to upgrade drinking water, stormwater and wastewater systems across the state, supporting over 57,000 jobs.
- In 2022, Governor Whitmer signed a package of legislation to make it easier for communities to access funding for water infrastructure.
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