Governor Gretchen Whitmer Directs $70 Million for Municipal Drinking Water and PFAS Filtration Plants

LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced on Monday the distribution of $70 million in state capital grants through the MI Clean Water Plan to finance the construction of advanced granular activated carbon (GAC) and reverse osmosis filtration facilities across twelve municipal water systems.

The grant funding, administered by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), directly targets municipal water treatment plants requiring technological upgrades to meet Michigan's nation-leading drinking water standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and micro-pollutants.

Protecting the Great Lakes and Municipal Water Supplies Surrounded by the Great Lakes, Michigan contains 20 percent of the world's surface freshwater, yet legacy industrial manufacturing has left localized groundwater contamination plumes requiring specialized filtration at municipal treatment intakes.

"Every family in Michigan deserves clean, safe drinking water when they turn on the kitchen faucet," Governor Whitmer said during a press conference in Grand Rapids. "Through our MI Clean Water Plan, we have invested over $5 billion to upgrade municipal water pipes, eliminate lead service lines, and install cutting-edge filtration technology. These new grants will ensure twelve more communities have the permanent infrastructure to filter out harmful chemicals and protect public health."

Municipal Project Locations Recipients of the $70 million filtration allocation include:

• City of Grand Rapids: $14 million to install advanced GAC filtration at the Lake Michigan Water Filtration Plant.
• City of Kalamazoo: $11 million for centralized PFAS ion-exchange treatment vessels.
• City of Flint: $9 million for distribution system optimization and secondary water quality monitors.
• City of Ann Arbor: $8 million for ozone-enhanced biofiltration retrofits.
• Muskegon County Water System: $7.5 million for industrial intake barrier upgrades.
• Seven additional rural and township municipal systems receiving between $2.5 million and $4.5 million.

Municipal leaders and clean water advocacy groups commended the state funding, emphasizing that state capital assistance prevents water utility rate spikes for working-class residential ratepayers while guaranteeing compliance with strict federal health advisories.