LANSING – The Whitmer administration wants to spend $80 million for lead service line replacement, storm water system upgrades and water infrastructure improvements in the upcoming fiscal year.

The money would go to communities through grants.

Scott Dean, the strategic communications advisor for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, said it’s unknown whether the funding will be combined with loans to create financial packages for communities.

According to the department, Michigan “has invested over $5.3 billion to rebuild local water infrastructure” since 2019.

Dean said Michigan has between 300,000 to 500,000 lead service lines.

By March 31, water utilities with lead lines, or others previously connected to lead lines, must submit an annual replacement report to the department. Each water supply must submit such reports until all its lead lines are removed.

“It’s great the governor is putting $50 million towards replacing lead service lines and $30 million towards other water infrastructure needs,” said Cyndi Roper, the Michigan-based senior policy advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

But that’s not enough money “when you think about the entire state and what’s at stake with unsafe drinking water,” she said.

Roper previously worked for 15 years as the Michigan director of the Clean Water Action, an advocacy group.

Lead exposure can cause damage to kidneys and brains and has been linked to lowered IQs in children, according to the department.

In 2014, Flint changed its water supply from Detroit’s system to using the Flint River. With the city’s pipes exposed to water contaminated with corrosive materials, lead from water lines leached into the drinking water supply.

The water crisis gained national attention.

According to Flint’s website, over 97% of lead service lines in the city have been replaced.

One emerging issue with replacing lead lines is lack of trust in utility companies, stemming from utilities’ lack of funds for community outreach, said Roper.

“Staff don’t have the expertise in how to engage with the community in both building their lead service line replacement plan and implementing it,” she said.

Indeed, there have been reports of miscommunication about replacing lead lines, said Jennifer Read, the water center director at the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan.

“I’ve heard stories, especially from lower income communities, where workers just show up and do it, and there isn’t proper notification,” said Read.

“To do it right, you need to have prior notification to prepare people for what they need to expect, to help them understand how to flush their lines and do everything correctly all the way through,” she said.

“It would go a long way to re-establishing or maintaining trust in your local water provider.”

In 2020, about 314,000 service lines across the state were reported to be made of unknown material, according to Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

Some 50,000 lead lines have been replaced, according to data from water utilities in 2023, Dean said.

Lines made of unknown materials are included in the department’s estimates because they might contain lead without utilities’ knowledge.

As for how the state can ensure lower-income communities receive enough funding, Read said those areas should be priorities “rather than putting it out for an open call for proposals, where wealthier communities can write a proposal more quickly and get the funds.”

And Roper said, “People are nervous, and we need to not try to placate their nervousness, but demonstrate that water utilities are getting the job done by getting safe drinking water into homes and having affordability programs for those struggling to keep their water on.”