Hartford, Sturgis Share in New MI Clean Water Grants to Upgrade Water Systems

Two communities in Michigan’s Great Southwest are among the nearly two dozen municipalities that have been awarded MI Clean Water Grants designed to upgrade their water systems throughout the Great Lakes State. They are Hartford and Sturgis.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday announced grants awarded under the umbrella of the MI Clean Water plan to help Michigan communities strengthen drinking water infrastructure and better ensure safe, affordable tap water across the state.

More than $5 million in funding will assist state efforts to support local projects that improve drinking water systems including replacing lead service lines, enhancing water affordability plans, and connecting homes with contaminated drinking water wells to safe community water supplies.

The governor says, “Since I first took office, I made it clear that we are going to rebuild Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure from roads to pipes to dams across our state,” and adds, “As we put Michigan back to work, we’re excited to provide our local partners with the support that helps us protect Michigan’s water resources from source to tap. Making these investments into our most precious resource allows us to invest directly in public health, help jumpstart our economy, and protect the environment.”

The MI Clean Water plan is a historic, $500 million investment announced by Gov. Whitmer in October to rebuild the state’s water infrastructure and help provide clean, affordable water to Michigan residents through investments in communities. The work has bipartisan and bicameral partners.

The MI Clean Water plan marks a significant investment after decades of under-investment in Michigan’s infrastructure.

Taken together, the $500M confronts the large infrastructure issues that Michigan faces such as lead-laden water service lines, toxic contamination like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), undersized sewers, failing septic systems, unaffordable water rates and constrained local budgets.

This historic investment includes a proposal combining federal dollars for lead service line replacement in low-income communities ($102.1 million) with bonding authority for water quality protection ($290 million), a one-time General Fund appropriation for drinking water infrastructure and innovation ($105 million), and asset management grants ($2.9 million) to help communities develop, update and improve their plans for wastewater and stormwater.

In addition to drinking water investments currently being awarded, Whitmer called on the State Legislature to approve MI Clean Water funds for community wastewater treatment improvements that protect Michigan lakes and streams, and to authorize additional investments in water infrastructure that ensure safe drinking water and clean water for swimming, boating, fishing and other activities. When the Legislature acts, it would allow for access to $290 million more dollars to support over 3,000 jobs and finish the commitment of the MI Clean Water plan.

The Drinking Water Asset Management (DWAM) grant is available to assist water supplies in asset management plan development or updates, and/or distribution system materials inventory as defined in Michigan’s Lead and Copper Rule.

The Affordability and Planning Grant (AP) 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.

Recently approved grants awarded through the DWAM and AP programs:

DWAM Grants

(Cities unless otherwise indicated)