Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed a $300 million expansion of the MI Clean Water Plan.
The expansion would provide communities with the resources they need to address water infrastructure concerns and lead action level exceedances. The MI Clean Water Plan originally started as a $500 million investment in drinking water, source water, and wastewater infrastructure. The plan aimed to support 7,500 jobs while addressing high water rates, lead service lines, contaminants, sewers, and failing septic systems.
This comes after a previously announced $200 million expansion to replace lead service lines statewide using federal money delivered to Michigan under the American Rescue Plan, reported The Office of Governor Whitmer.
Whitmer has proposed investing $885 million in these water plans, using a combination of state and federal funds. The funds would improve water infrastructure in communities, schools, and homes.
"Every Michigander in every community deserves access to safe drinking water, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity right now to use the federal dollars we have to put Michiganders first and make lasting investments in our water infrastructure," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "Together, we can utilize the resources we have to create thousands of good-paying jobs, deliver safe water to every home and kid in school, and shore up our water infrastructure to make it more resilient to extreme weather. I look forward to the $1.3 billion in federal funding specifically for water that we will get, among billions more, from the bipartisan federal infrastructure plan."
A $300 million expansion of the MI Clean Water Plan would invest in three key areas:
- $100 million for a Lead Action Level Exceedance Community Support Program, which will allow communities to access funds if they experience an Action Level Exceedance (ALE). This program would offer immediate support to replace water lines or provide other solutions.
- $50 million for a Community Technical, Managerial, and Financial Support Program, which would assist with the replacement of lead service lines and other water infrastructure upgrades. Priority will be placed on disadvantaged communities and those with ALEs.
- $150 million for an Impaired Community Water Relief Program, which aims to provide an alternative safe community water supply, addressing PFAS, arsenic, and other contaminants found in drinking water systems
