Photo courtesy of the Office of Gov. Whitmer Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out her plans to clean up Michigan’s lakes.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer highlighted Michigan’s Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week on Wednesday in a press release. She listed the things her office is doing to  maintain Michigan’s greatest natural resource: its water. 

Whitmer began by addressing the “increasing and overwhelming amounts of garbage disposal, from both in and out of state.”

According to Whitmer, people from all over are driving to dump their trash in Michigan.

“These waste disposal practices are driving up emissions, contaminating our water, and straining the lifespan of existing landfills.” she said.

In an attempt to curb garbage dumping, Whitmer announced companies will now be charged $5 per ton of waste they dump in Michigan, up from just 36 cents. She claims this will “bring Michigan in line with the average” fee. It will also hopefully encourage recycling and push companies to reduce their waste.

Whitmer says this price increase will generate “$80 million in ongoing revenue that we can use to remediate and protect our land, water, and lakes.”

She urged Michigan residents to contact their state legislators and ask them to support her price increase. 

Whitmer also used the press release to address her plans for Michigan’s clean energy legislation. Whitmer signed this legislation in 2023 and took on the task of getting Michigan to 100% clean-energy by 2040. She also aims to provide efficiency upgrades at lower costs for customers and create, “tens of thousands of good-paying jobs while protecting our planet and public health.”

She also elaborated on the MI Clean Water Plan, a $290 million project that will help communities in Michigan improve their water infrastructure. Whitmer said of the project, “This will also help us make much-needed repairs on aging systems by replacing lead service lines, upgrading wastewater plants, and making improvements to sewer systems.” 

“I am proud of the steps my administration has taken to protect Michigan’s environment,” Whitmer said in closing. “Together, we can be good stewards of our extraordinary natural resources and build a brighter future for our kids.” 

One of the main problems Michigan has with its water infrastructure is lead contamination. According to Michigan.gov, 331,000 service lines in the state are known to contain or likely contain lead. Another 314,000 are made of an unknown material.

A lot of attention has been on Michigan’s water since the Flint Water Crisis began in 2014. The drinking water in the city of Flint, Michigan was contaminated with lead and bacteria, rendering it unusable. The city promised to replace all of the pipes by the beginning of 2020. However, many residents are still waiting to have clean water in their homes again.