Garfield Twp. Among 11 Cities, Villages and Townships Awarded MI Clean Water Grants

Governor Gretchen Whitmer awarded nearly $5 million in grants through the MI Clean Water Plan to 11 cities, villages and townships to help local water suppliers move toward reducing risks associated with lead in drinking water, along with other improvements to ensure safe and clean tap water for Michiganders.

Among those 11 cities, villages and townships awarded the grants is Garfield Township, who was awarded $1,224,140.

“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,” said Governor Whitmer. “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.”

“Michigan continues to be committed to helping communities address longstanding water infrastructure deficits,” said Liesl Clark, EGLE director. “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.”

The MI Clean Water Plan is a $500 million investment announced by Governor Whitmer to rebuild Michigan’s water infrastructure to help give clean, affordable water to residents through investments in communities.

The grants are issued through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), and support work such as: replacing lead service lines, enhancing water affordability plans and connecting homes with contaminated drinking water wells to safe community water supplies.

The plan also addresses water infrastructure issues that the state faces, including: 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.

The drinking water quality portion of the plan has already been approved. It 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 or rate studies, asset management plan development and lead service line identification ($105M).

Officials say Governor Whitmer continues to advocate for the Wastewater Protection program that would be funded through existing bonding authority ($290 million).

The Drinking Water Asset Management (DWAM) grant assists water supplies in asset management plan development or updates, and/or distribution system materials inventory as defined in the state’s Lead and Copper Rule. All fund have been allocated and EGLE is no longer accepting applications.

The Affordability and Planning (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. EGLE is not currently accepting applications.

The Consolidation and Contamination Risk Reduction (C2R2) grant funds projects that remove or reduce PFAS or other contaminants as defined under Michigan’s 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.

Grant recipients can be found below.

Recent grants awarded under the DWAM grant program:

Oakland County (City of Pontiac) $456,600
Rochester Hills, City of $707,180
Auburn, City of $229,301
St. Clair, City of $210,142
Roscommon, Village of $183,719
Brighton, City of $218,564
Wyandotte, City of $98,800
Norway, City of $371,296
Brownstown, Charter Twp. of $588,369

Recent grants awarded under the C2R2 grant program:

Garfield, Charter Twp. of $1,224,140
Wyandotte, City of $674,490