In March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the Building Michigan Together Plan, which included the largest infrastructure investment in state history.

Included in that investment is nearly $2 billion for water infrastructure, which breaks down to more than $1 billion for drinking water improvements, including:

• At least $325 million to replace lead service lines, including 100 percent of lead service lines in Benton Harbor.
• $55 million to help communities tackle toxic contaminants like PFAS.
• $43 million in assistance for small and disadvantaged communities.

Another $712 million is earmarked for clean water initiatives to address storm and wastewater including:

• $669 million for clean water infrastructure.
• $35 million for loans to help repair failing septic systems.
• $20 million for public health risk reduction.
• $8 million to address emerging contaminants.
• $210 million to repair dams in Midland and Gladwin counties and another $40 million to address the repair, renovation, or elimination of dams statewide.

According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Strategic Communications Advisor Scott Dean, EGLE will administer the $1.9 billion in funding, evaluate applications and distribute funding to municipalities. It will also issue permits needed to begin construction. 

This supplemental provides for a 15-fold increase in fiscal year 2021-2022 funding for water infrastructure investments. The supplements to EGLE’s budget include:

• $1.77 billion for clean water and drinking water infrastructure projects.
• $50 million for healthy hydration investments in Michigan schools and daycares.
• $43 million for dam risk reduction efforts (plus an additional $206 million for dam projects in the Department of Treasury’s budget).
• $35 million for a failing septic system loan program.
• $10 million for implementation of Water Use Advisory Council recommendations.

More:Public transit, PFAS, broadband among allocations available to Northern Michigan in infrastructure bill

The $1.9 million investment won’t be enough to cover all of the water infrastructure that is needed in Michigan, but it marks an important start to addressing Michigan’s water concerns.

“Continued lack of investment in infrastructure will only allow the problem to continue to grow,” Dean said in an email. “This infrastructure funding is an important response to Michigan’s historic underinvestment in our water infrastructure that will both improve our quality of life and reduce the long-term financial burden on Michigan residents for these long overdue and much needed investments.”

Some areas of concern for EGLE are lead service lines and PFAs contamination, including funding to replace 100 percent of Benton Harbor’s lead service lines.

More:After PFAS discovery, Pellston students take their work further

Notably, this investment does not include money for maintenance over the years. That funding will have to come from future investments in Michigan’s water infrastructure.

“We were particularly pleased with the septic system money, $35 million, because it’s really the first time the state has made a commitment to helping property owners, homeowners pay for the replacement of septic systems. We got at least 130,000 failing septic systems in Michigan and we need to begin addressing that problem,” For Love of Water (FLOW) Senior Advisor Dave Dempsey said.

Dempsey said the organization is also pleased with the $10 million to implement recommendations by the Water Use Advisory Council, which will help gather data on groundwater so it can be better understood and managed.

FLOW hopes to advise EGLE on the septic tank replacement loan program to ensure the money is invested wisely. It also hopes to help implement the Water Use Advisory Council recommendations.

“People have been saying that this is one of the biggest investments in protecting Michigan’s water in our state history. That’s true, but it’s also well short of what’s needed,” Dempsey said. 

“The previous governor, Gov. (Rick) Snyder had an infrastructure council that estimated we need a billion dollars a year for 20 years to catch up on our water infrastructure,” he said. “So we basically dealt with two years of the debt backlog with this bill, but then we have an 18-year deficit that remains, so it’s not a permanent solution. It’s a good start or a BandAid on a much bigger problem. So I guess it’s good news and bad news. That’s the bottom line.”

Since the water infrastructure included in the bill primarily focuses on drinking water infrastructure, Sam Day, water quality biologist for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, said the tribe will not be applying for grants or be involved with infrastructure projects. 

The tribe is looking to invest in infrastructure around bodies of water and wetlands. Day said they are hoping to see some federal funding for projects like road stream crossings and green infrastructure at Victories Square, the tribe’s former casino site.

More:Victories Square development to continue in spring

“A lot of the infrastructure has either outlived its original lifespan or weren’t designed to to handle the amount of water that they need to be able to handle,” Day said. “A lot of water infrastructure that we have just can’t handle the precipitation that we are currently having. Especially under climate change scenarios where we’re looking at increased precipitation, and so it’s just going to cause more issues, both ecologically and to our infrastructure.”

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Originally Appeared Here