Flow’s mission is to ensure Michigan’s waters are healthy, public, and protected for everyone. Our priorities include water infrastructure funding, tackling nitrate contamination in drinking water, factory farm pollution, and the need for a statewide septic code. We track state budgets closely because they signal real-world priorities. The newly approved FY 2025-26 budgets for Michigan’s… Read more »
Download Policy Brief (PDF) The problem. In Michigan, polluters have walked away from more than 26,000 contaminated sites — 13,000 of which are “orphaned” without a known responsible party — with groundwater and soil too polluted to use, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the $13 billion that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes,… Read more »
The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of North America, holding nearly one-fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and supplying drinking water to 40 million people. A new report from the International Joint Commission (IJC), its second Draft 10-Year Report on the Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes, highlights progress as well as new… Read more »
Rushed potash fracking operation threatens groundwater and wetlands. Michigan Potash & Salt Company is attempting to develop a massive potash and salt fracking facility in rural Osceola and Mecosta Counties, right next to Bullkill Marsh, some of Michigan’s most beautiful and fragile wetlands. If built, the Michigan Potash mine would consume more than two million… Read more »
What is a factory farm and how do they harm the environment and communities? Factory farms, or CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), cram thousands of animals into confined spaces, producing sewage on the scale of a small city. This waste isn’t just manure — it’s loaded with E. coli, chemicals, and other hazards, and is… Read more »
Line 5 – the 72-year-old dual pipelines suspended across the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac – has been battered by anchor strikes and entangled by cables from passing ships. It is universally accepted that the exposed pipelines represent a clear and present danger to the Great Lakes and the regional economy should Line 5… Read more »
What are nitrates and why do they matter? If your household water comes from a private well, you may be at risk of nitrate contamination —and not even know it. Nitrates are a type of nitrogen compound that can seep into groundwater from the use of fertilizers, manure, and failing septic systems. The problem? Nitrates… Read more »
Watch the recording Factory farms, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), threaten our waters with immense quantities of sewage, which too often are sprayed on fields where it can then runoff into streams and leach into groundwater — including into our drinking water. On August 8, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy… Read more »
Over 750 contamination sites in Michigan need immediate action to address human health exposure risks – but because of limited staff and funding, it will be years before all the sites are dealt with and the risks are controlled. That’s the result of a classification system the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE),… Read more »
Michigan sits at the heart of the Great Lakes—the largest freshwater system on Earth. Despite this abundance, our water resources are not immune to overuse and mismanagement. A 2024 audit released by the Office of the Auditor General highlighted several important areas where the state’s water withdrawal program can be improved to better protect our… Read more »
