Michigan Water Trust Fund Act

Michigan Water Trust Fund Act

Send my email

Michigan's water infrastructure is in bad shape. Many of our cities deal with problems like lead pipes, contamination, and stormwater runoff – things that can make people sick. And in rural areas, the well water is not always safe to drink, and septic systems can leak and fail. Too many of our neighbors struggle to afford the water they need for basic necessities. 

We need to invest in our water infrastructure, but we've struggled for decades to get adequate funding. Meanwhile, every year, bottled water companies take over 1 billion gallons of Michigan's water – and they sell it ...

Michigan's water infrastructure is in bad shape. Many of our cities deal with problems like lead pipes, contamination, and stormwater runoff – things that can make people sick. And in rural areas, the well water is not always safe to drink, and septic systems can leak and fail. Too many of our neighbors struggle to afford the water they need for basic necessities. 

We need to invest in our water infrastructure, but we've struggled for decades to get adequate funding. Meanwhile, every year, bottled water companies take over 1 billion gallons of Michigan's water – and they sell it at huge profits. This water belongs to the people of Michigan, and the use of our water should benefit the people of Michigan.

Lawmakers in Lansing are now considering the Michigan Water Trust Fund Act. The MWTFA would generate approximately $300 million a year for critical water infrastructure and affordability needs, without raising taxes of water rates. The MWTFA would:

- Collect a $0.25 per gallon royalty, paid for by bottled water companies.

- Establish a dedicated trust fund, modeled on the successful Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.

- Ensure that Michigan's waters remain in the public domain and are protected from privatization. 

The MWTFA is a forward-looking solution to the urgent challenges of water infrastructure, equity, affordability, and environmental stewardship. This legislation reclaims water as a shared public resource, rather than a private commodity.

 

+

Email your Michigan state senator

Lawmakers in Lansing are considering legislation that would support Michigan's critical water infrastructure and affordability needs by collecting a $0.25 per gallon royalty from bottled water companies for their use of Michigan's publicly-held water resources. Tell your senator to support this common-sense solution and assure clean, safe drinking water for Michiganders. 

Compose your email

Email Tips +

The most persuasive emails are personal, and talk about your experience and impacts you've seen in your community. Here are some ideas to get started:

- Tell your senator that bottled water companies should pay their fair share for using Michigan's water resources.

- Talk about how your community has struggled with water infrastructure issues, such as lead pipes, outdated systems, stormwater runoff, or high water bills.

- If you get your water from a well, tell your senator about the high cost of testing your water for contamination and fixing failing septic systems. 

How we use the data you enter on this form

How Flow Water Advocates uses the data you enter on this form

Flow Water Advocates (the organizer of this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the services for this online action for our legitimate purposes. Use includes possibly exporting to other systems so that we can contact you in the future by email, and to effectively respond to inquiries and communications related to those services.

If you subscribe by checking the Yes, Send me updates button, we will add you to our email newsletter list so that you may receive information that we feel is relevant to protecting water in Michigan and the Great Lakes. You may unsubscribe at any time.

We will never share or sell your information to third parties.

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

  • Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.

  • All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?