Two Downriver communities are among 10 Michigan cities, villages and townships to be awarded nearly $5 million in grants under the umbrella of the MI Clean Water plan.
The city of Wyandotte and Brownstown Township will benefit from recently announced grants earmarked for ensuring safe drinking water.
The grant money will be used to help local water suppliers move toward reducing the risks associated with lead in drinking water and other improvements to better ensure safe, clean tap water for residents.
“Investing in water infrastructure creates tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, protects access to safe drinking water for communities, and drives down costs for families,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stated in a press release. “The MI Clean Water plan helps us put Michiganders first, and we should continue building on it to replace lead service lines statewide, tackle toxic contaminants, and cut utility costs for families.”
Liesel Clark, director of the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, said Michigan continues its commitment to helping communities address long-standing water infrastructure deficits.
“With more federal support on the way for work like removing lead service lines and other pressing needs, we’re pleased to complement those efforts with these innovative grant programs that have been assisting local water systems,” Clark said.
The MI Clean Water plan is a $500 million investment to rebuild the state’s water infrastructure to help provide clean, affordable water to Michigan residents through investments in communities.
Issued through EGLE, the grants support work including replacing lead service lines, enhancing water affordability plans, and connecting homes with contaminated drinking water wells to safe community water supplies.
It addresses water infrastructure issues that Michigan faces, such as lead-laden water service lines, toxic contamination like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (referred to as PFAS), undersized sewers, failing septic systems, unaffordable water rates and constrained local budgets.
“Our municipal utilities, including drinking water, are one of Wyandotte’s greatest assets,” said Wyandotte Councilwoman Kelly Stec. “This investment of nearly $800,000 will be used to add new carbon filtration to our system, ensuring our tap water remains safe and free of major contaminants including PFAS. I want to thank our incredible Municipal Services team for bringing this project to life, and I look forward to future partnerships with the state to continue moving our city towards a bright, sustainable future.”
On behalf of himself and the township’s Board of Trustees, Brownstown Township Manager Brian Peters expressed gratitude for the continued support of the township’s partners at the state of Michigan.
“This investment will support our shared mission of working to ensure the safest drinking water for our residents,” Peters said. “This grant improves our ability to identify, track and prioritize necessary investments in our water infrastructure. We appreciate the leadership from Gov. Whitmer and our representatives in the Michigan Legislature for providing the tools and funding to make these improvements.”
The drinking water quality portion of this investment has already been approved and includes federal dollars for lead service line replacement in low-income communities ($102.1 million) and general fund programs that address PFAS or other contaminants, planning and/or rate studies, asset management plan development and lead service line identification ($105M).
According to the governor’s office, Whitmer continues to advocate for the wastewater protection program that would be funded through existing bonding authority ($290 million).
More than half of EGLE’s budget is funneled to Michigan communities in the form of financial assistance to help address water infrastructure and other environmental- and health-protection efforts.
The Drinking Water Asset Management grant assists water supplies in asset management plan development or updates, and/or distribution system materials inventory as defined in Michigan’s Lead and Copper Rule. All funds have been allocated and EGLE is no longer accepting applications.
The Affordability and Planning grant is available to any community water supply and local unit of government, including counties, townships, cities, villages and others to assist in planning and/or rate studies. EGLE is not currently accepting applications.
The Consolidation and Contamination Risk Reduction grant funds projects that remove or reduce 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. All funds have been allocated and EGLE is no longer accepting applications.
Brownstown Township received $588,369 under the DWAM grant program. The city of Wyandotte received $98,800 from the same grant program.
Wyandotte also was the recipient of $674,490 that was awarded under the C2R2 grant program.
The other grant recipients are the city of Pontiac, Rochester Hills, Auburn, St. Clair, Roscommon, Brighton, Norway and Garfield Township.
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