Governor Gretchen Whitmer Directs $95 Million for Municipal Lead Water Pipe Hydro-Excavations

LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced on Monday the distribution of $95 million in state clean water capital grants through the MI Clean Water Plan to accelerate the excavation and replacement of more than 25,000 legacy lead drinking water service lines and fund complete street restoration across sixteen Michigan municipalities.

The funding, administered by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), equips municipal public works departments with high-efficiency vacuum hydro-excavation trucks that use pressurized water and vacuum suction to expose underground pipes without destroying tree root systems or residential driveways, reducing per-line replacement costs by over 40 percent.

Eliminating Every Lead Pipe in Michigan by 2030 Under Michigan's landmark Lead and Copper Rule—the strictest drinking water standard in the nation—all public water utilities are statutorily required to replace 100 percent of lead service lines from the main watermain to the residential water meter.

"Every Michigander deserves clean, safe drinking water, free from toxic lead contamination," Governor Whitmer said during an announcement in Lansing. "Michigan is leading the nation in getting lead out of our drinking water. By investing $95 million in modern hydro-excavation technology and street restoration, we are speeding up pipe replacements, lowering costs for municipal water departments, and ensuring Michigan families can turn on the tap with total confidence."

Municipal Allocations Key city grant awards include:

• City of Detroit: $30 million to replace 8,500 lead service lines on the East and Northwest Sides.
• City of Lansing (Board of Water & Light): $18 million to complete full municipal lead elimination across regional service zones.
• City of Benton Harbor: $12 million for distribution system optimization and secondary water quality monitors.
• City of Jackson: $10 million for neighborhood vacuum excavation and asphalt resurfacing.
• Twelve additional cities and townships receiving between $2 million and $6 million.

Municipal water directors and clean water advocacy coalitions commended the state funding, emphasizing that full public cost coverage eliminates financial burdens on working-class residential property owners.