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Gov Whitmer signs $4.8 billion bill to upgrade our water infrastructure

Our water infrastructure is in need of repair, with lead pipes, broken dams, PFAS contamination, and outdated stormwater and sewer systems impacting communities around the state.

In March 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP), a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus to reinvest in our communities and rebuild our economy after the Covid-19 Pandemic. In November, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), another $1.3 trillion economic package to invest in our nation’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and water. Thanks to these bills, Michigan has a historic budget surplus that can be used to shape the future of our state’s economy, natural resources, and public health and wellbeing.

In late March 2022, the Michigan House and Senate passed Senate Bill 565 with broad bipartisan support, which will invest $4.7 billion of available ARP and IIJA funds into Michigan’s water and water infrastructure, marking a big step in the right direction to protect our water and communities. On March 30, 2022, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill into law.

Senate Bill 565 will help address decades of lack of investment in our water systems, protect and provide clean, safe drinking water, rebuild our aging waste and stormwater infrastructure, address toxic contamination, and so much more.

The sweeping investment includes:

  • $515 million for wastewater and stormwater upgrades
  • $750 million for drinking water infrastructure improvement projects
  • $50 million for drinking water filters in schools and childcare facilities
  • $88.2 million to address emerging contaminants, like toxic PFAS contaminants in storm and wastewater
  • $35 million to address failing septic systems
  • $15 million for cleaning up an old paper Mill contaminated by PFAS in Muskegon County
  • $8.6 million to clean up PFAS and other contaminants in Iosco County
  • $138.8 million to replace lead service lines, including $45 million in Benton Harbor and $75 million in Detroit
  • $200 million for the Four Lakes Task Force to fix the dams that burst two years ago in Midland County
  • $382.9 million in emergency rental assistance
  • $50 million or energy efficiency, health, and safety improvements in low-income communities
  • $25 million for electric vehicle (EV) industry support and pilot programs
  • $450 million for local and state parks and trails
  • $316 million for roads and bridges
  • $250 million in statewide broadband service grants
  • $121.4 million to help low-income residents stay in their homes

The expanded investments will be made using $3.1 billion in federal COVID relief, $1 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and $571 million from the state’s General Fund.

Thank Governor Whitmer for signing the bill into law so we can remove lead pipes, upgrade our drinking water infrastructure, and deliver safe, clean, accessible drinking water for Michigan communities.

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