Following the Flint water crisis, state environment officials in Michigan crafted a new 30-year water plan aimed at protecting the state's "globally unique water resources."
The Michigan water stewardship plan is designed not only to address the government's pressing environmental concerns but also the state's overall economic and social objectives. The water strategy starts with state-wide awareness campaign in protecting and rehabilitating Michigan's various waterways (including dilapidated ones that date back to the mid-1800) which involves community participation in the attainment of goals.
"There's a framework here for long-term success," Governor Snyder said Friday as quoted by Christian Science Monitor. "If there's one thing that binds Michiganders together, as much or more than anything, it's a love of the Great Lakes and the wonderful water resources we have in this state."
On June 10, the state chief executive identified five key priorities that should be properly addressed in the new water plan in a meeting with Michigan's top policymakers in Harrison Township. The priority actions laid out in the new water strategy are as follows (via Michigan State's Department of Environmental Quality's official website):
1. Ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water for all the residents of Michigan.
2. Achieving the 40% phosphorous reduction goal in the western Lake Erie basin.
3. Halting the introduction of new invasive species that upset the balance of the ecosystem
4. Encouraging and supporting investments in commercial and recreational harbors.
5. Developing and improving the quality of Michigan's water trails system.
According to state officials, the 30-year approach has long been compiled since 2006 but was largely unimplemented due to lack of funding. With the Flint crisis, the urgency of putting forward a viable strategy for the future has forced the state government to fine-tune and streamline the water plan in consultation with civilian stakeholders.
"We believe this strategy is not only the vision of, or solely the vision of, government," Office of the Great Lakes director Jon Allan said as quoted by Detroit News. "But we believe it to be the vision of the people of Michigan... We've tried to reflect on is what the state (residents) had told us they want us to work on and what they want to work on."
