Gov. Whitmer’s investment in clean drinking water a step forward for protecting our health, creating jobs

LANSING – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters (Michigan LCV) today released the following statement in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement of the MI Clean Water initiative — a half-billion dollars in upgrades to Michigan’s water infrastructure to address toxic contamination threatening our health.

The MI Clean Water initiative sets a plan to put Michiganders to work across the state, digging out and replacing lead pipes and aging sewer infrastructure that results in billions of gallons of raw sewage being dumped into our rivers and lakes. The initiative also will help communities create income-based water affordability programs to end the punitive practice of shut offs to homes.  

“Michigan should be a national leader in protecting our water and Gov. Whitmer’s announcement today rightly puts protecting our health and cleaning up the water coming from our taps a top priority,” said Lisa Wozniak, executive director of Michigan LCV. “Investment in Michigan’s aging water infrastructure is long overdue, and the governor is moving aggressively during this economic crisis to create jobs here in our communities and protect our families by cleaning up toxic contamination.”