Governor Gretchen Whitmer Directs $125 Million to Accelerate Michigan Lead Water Pipe Replacements

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Director Phil Roos announced on Monday the distribution of $125 million in state clean water capital grants through the MI Clean Water Plan to physically excavate and replace 25,000 toxic lead and galvanized iron drinking water service lines across twelve municipalities, with prioritized funding for Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Highland Park.

The grant awards fully finance 100 percent full-line service replacements—from the municipal water main in the street all the way into the home's water meter in the basement—at zero direct cost to property owners or renters.

Eliminating Childhood Lead Exposure and Rebuilding Trust in Community Taps Michigan enforced the nation's strictest Lead and Copper Rule following the Flint water crisis, mandating that all public water utilities replace 100 percent of lead service lines by 2040. Direct state grant assistance accelerates replacement timelines while preventing municipal water rate hikes in disadvantaged communities.

"Every parent in Michigan deserves total peace of mind knowing that the water coming out of their kitchen tap is clean and safe for their children to drink," Governor Whitmer said during an announcement at a residential pipe replacement site in Benton Harbor. "Since 2019, we have invested over $5 billion in upgrading Michigan's water infrastructure. This $125 million investment puts backhoes in the ground, pulls 25,000 lead pipes out of our neighborhoods, and creates hundreds of good-paying union plumbing and utility construction jobs across Michigan."

Municipal Lead Replacement Allocations Key city grant distributions include:

• City of Detroit: $45 million to replace 9,000 lead service lines in historic residential neighborhoods.
• City of Benton Harbor: $20 million to complete city-wide service line verifications and private property restorations.
• City of Flint: $18 million for final neighborhood restoration and water transmission main connections.
• City of Grand Rapids: $16 million for combined street paving and lead line replacement contracts.
• Seven additional municipalities receiving between $3 million and $8 million.

Community clean water organizers, pediatricians, and plumbing trade union leaders commended the governor's targeted funding, highlighting that complete public financing removes bureaucratic hurdles and protects vulnerable children from neurotoxic lead.