Outdated and Obstructed: How the Michigan Water Systems are Slowly Being Revitalized

WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI.

In 2023, Detroit City was ranked the fifth poorest city in the United States. With a median income of 36,000 dollars per household, many families struggle to get food on their plates. Since Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013, Detroit has slowly been building themselves up from the shabbles. However, the impact of the automotive collapse continues to have a long lasting impression on the city. 

The lack of financial resources of Detroit city and the surrounding areas have posed severe threats to Michigan waters. Combined sewage combined stormwater and wastewater into one system. They are often cheaper to build since they only require maintenance and construction of one set of pipes.  In the past, Michigan used combined sewage systems, which has slowly dumped major pollutants into lakes and rivers. Storm water, or water that failed to be absorbed by soil after rainfall, collects pesticides, fertilizer, oil, and other pollutants into our combined sewages. Storm water runoff poses issues like algal blooms, which take away the necessary oxygen for aquatic plants in lakes and rivers. 

Combined sewage systems were originally designed to prevent flooding by collecting overflow and taking excess water to a nearby treatment plant. But, in major precipitation events, these sewage systems are leaky, and spew contaminated water. In 2020, combined sewage systems will have spewed more than 333 million gallons of sewage into the longest river in Michigan, the Grand River. This threat has made the Grand and Red Cedar River to be deemed “impaired” by the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, barring people from enjoying and connecting with these water systems due to high e.coli levels. 

The water pollution threat stems all the way back to Michigan poverty. In order to restore and update these systems, residents in Lansing, Michigan were asked to pay 4% more on their sewage utility bills every year. This burden has posed severe challenges to residents and has impeded the progress to update water management. 

However, The Michigan Clean Water State Revolving Fund has a solution to remove financial burden on residents. Since 2020, Lansing, Michigan and states surrounding Great Lakes have invested 250 million dollars into combating and updating the Michigan Sewage System. One of the most notable achievements was the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has provided 55 millions dollars in total to cleaning water systems in America. Lansing, Michigan is using 6.5 million dollars specifically to meet clean water regulations, which eases some burden off of residents who are worried about the increased utility bills. 

With new legislation that has eliminated combined sewage systems in Michigan, 154 different aquatic species in the Red Cedar and Grand Rivers are saved. Additionally, these rivers would be safe for human recreations. After completion, these updated systems will not only benefit humans, but other species in our ecosystems.