EGLE promotes Drinking Water Week

EGLE’s Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate promotes Drinking Water Week

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) kicks off Drinking Water Week today, which also include Private Residential Awareness Day on Tuesday, May 3. The purpose of this weeklong event is to recognize the vital role drinking water plays in daily life and the critical infrastructure required to carry it to our homes.

EGLE’s Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate (OCWPA) will use this week to educate the public on their drinking water and provide tips that residents can use to help ensure they have quality tap water by connecting residents to state drinking water resources. Every Michigander should be equipped with knowledge that helps keep their drinking water healthy.

“There are actions all of us can take to support healthy drinking water from protecting the source to getting the water moving in our home plumbing.” Said Kris Donaldson, EGLE’s Clean Water Public Advocate.

The week begins with a primer on drinking water that covers where it comes from and how it gets to your home or place of work. Knowing your water supply is key to learning about your water quality and determining who to contact with concerns. Depending on your water supply, your local health department or water supplier is likely your best resources for answering questions about your water. Residents can also report drinking water concerns online using EGLE’s Drinking Water Concern System.

Tips to reduce your risk of exposure to lead in drinking water, which is a particular concern in homes with older plumbing or those served by lead service lines, are also covered.

Private Residential Awareness Day on Tuesday will focus on the more than one million private wells in Michigan that provide drinking water to over 2.6 million Michigan people statewide. Drinking Water Week highlights important resources about well maintenance and testing found on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service’s (MDHHS) Care for MiWell (URL: Michigan.gov/Envirohealth) website.

Drinking Water Week also brings attention to the critical role water infrastructure plays in getting healthy drinking water to our tap. The Michigan legislature this year approved a major supplemental appropriation that includes over $1.8 billion in funding to EGLE for clean water and drinking water infrastructure projects.

For more information about Drinking Water Week, visit Michigan.gov/DrinkingWaterWeek.