Protecting Michigan’s “Sixth Great Lake”: Live webinar with the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability


In February 2025,  Flow and students from the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) graduate program teamed up for a 16-month initiative to examine Michigan’s groundwater management and propose a statewide strategy to ensure long-term, sustainable groundwater governance.

Protecting and managing groundwater is particularly complex given the lack of comprehensive data, fragmented state authority governing water quality versus quantity, unclear and differing policies managing water quantity versus water quality, and the lack of public education and knowledge. Over the last five years, an increasing number of state agencies, scientific experts, philanthropy, and nonprofits have raised awareness of this understudied, underfunded, and underappreciated resource that is integral to the health and well-being of all Great Lakes waters. 

Save the date:

📍 When: April 8, 12pm

📍 Where: Online, zoom. Register here! 

📍 What: A FREE live webinar discussing key recommendations to protect Michigan’s water.

Building on these previous groundwater reports and assessments, Flow, in partnership with the University of Michigan’s SEAS, will develop a strategy for groundwater reform that addresses quantity, quality, and justice challenges; and offers regulatory, statutory, and institutional structural recommendations. 

After the 16-month initiative started, the report will be released on April 6, 2026.

Meet the graduate students.

We asked the SEAS graduate students to share their perspectives about this groundwater project. Read their responses to all things groundwater! 

Paige Lund

Lillian Wege

Kelsey Campana

Emma Welsh