LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Ruth Johnson on Thursday voted for legislation to invest $3.34 billion in dam infrastructure, wastewater systems, groundwater protection and providing clean drinking water to Michigan residents.
“A quarter of Michigan families rely on private wells for their drinking water, so it is critically important that this plan includes $50 million to help provide testing of private wells to ensure families know if their well water is safe and provide options if it is contaminated,” said Johnson, R-Holly. “In addition to helping ensure quality water from private wells, this plan would make improvements to our aging infrastructure to ensure all our families have access to clean drinking water.”
Senate Bill 565 would use $2.37 billion in federal funding, $680 million in state resources and $290 million in repurposed state bond funds to improve Michigan’s dam infrastructure, wastewater systems and groundwater protection and provide clean drinking water.
The bill features $1 billion to replace lead pipes throughout the state, $700 million to upgrade local drinking water and wastewater facilities, $680 million for dam infrastructure, $100 million in grants to remove PFAS chemicals from “orphaned” sites, and $85 million to ensure students have access to safe water at school.
Under the plan, $50 million would be dedicated for private well water users, including grants to help them connect to a community water system or increase the depth of their well if their water was contaminated or their well failed after a disaster or install a whole-house or point-of-use filtration system as the result of contamination.
Johnson, who herself relies on a private well for drinking water, created a Water Resources page on her state website to help constituents learn more about water safety. It is available at https://www.senatorruthjohnson.com/water-resources and allows families with well water to find information on available state, county and federal resources — including details on how to test for and, if necessary, safely remove various contaminants from their water.
SB 565 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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