Michigan Environment Watch

The Great Lakes News Collaborative asked state and national experts how Michigan could break the cycle of underfunding and poor decision-making that has left water systems across Michigan in sorry shape.

Michigan is set to receive the federal infrastructure funds over the next five years, significantly boosting its lending capacity. The funds allow more communities to reinvest in essential public works without saddling residents with all the costs.

Customers get cheaper, cleaner water when communities share the cost of infrastructure. But Michigan’s experience shows how political conflicts and logistical challenges can complicate the math.

The Guard, seeking more space for cyber training and other modern military needs, would expand Camp Grayling’s footprint by accessing vast swaths of state land. It may face pushback from landowners and outdoor groups.

Data compiled by the Institute for Public Utilities at Michigan State University shows that water prices are climbing quickly — more quickly, until recent price spikes, than most other goods and services.

Towns across Michigan face increasingly desperate choices as they struggle to maintain their infrastructure – many of them with a shrinking number of taxpayers to foot the bill.

After years of deferred maintenance, big upgrades are coming to Belle Isle and picturesque Tahquamenon Falls. But there are also potholes to fill, toilets and sewers to replace and electrical systems to modernize.

Septic systems are common around Elk Lake and many other lake communities. If they’re maintained, they usually manage to keep bacteria and viruses in check. But failing systems can allow contaminated water to seep into nearby bodies of water.

Cities around the Great Lakes region struggle with the cost of water maintenance and operation as their populations decline.

That’s what an independent panel found in its final report chronicling the physical and human causes of the May 2020 dam failures that flooded out mid-Michigan, forcing thousands to evacuate and leaving widespread damage.

As some rural towns lose population and government funds shrink, some drinking water systems are one failure away from crisis.

Michigan cities rich and poor, big and small have been delaying maintenance on their water systems for decades. Now, even wealthy towns are suffering the consequences of past reluctance to pay for water system upkeep.

Photograph confirms return of otters to Detroit River.

Federal and state governments begin to reverse course on underinvestment to address water’s true cost.

The Poweshiek skipperling is an endangered butterfly species with only two remaining populations that are teetering on the verge of extinction.

On May 11, Bridge Michigan environment reporter Kelly House and Circle of Blue’s Brett Walton will moderate a Zoom discussion about the crisis of crumbling water infrastructure in our state and region.

The Whitmer administration just released a roadmap of its effort to wean Michigan off fossil fuels by midcentury. Accomplishing the plan would require big changes at the state and within industries.

The governor hopes a new federal funding source can prolong the plant’s life, protecting jobs and preventing the need to burn more fossil fuels for energy. But plant owners say that, for now, they’re sticking with plans to close.

While crews work to remove lead pipes from the city water system, activists say they worry that violations at the city water treatment plant could further threaten residents. Regulators say there’s no cause for concern.

Michigan hunters are so adept at hunting elk that state regulators now say a rarely used season in January is no longer necessary.