{"id":9436,"date":"2026-03-20T13:13:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/chang\/?p=9436"},"modified":"2026-03-20T13:13:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:13:46","slug":"on-world-water-day-michigan-lawmakers-community-leaders-highlight-need-for-water-affordability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/chang\/2026\/03\/20\/on-world-water-day-michigan-lawmakers-community-leaders-highlight-need-for-water-affordability\/","title":{"rendered":"On World Water Day, Michigan Lawmakers,\u00a0Community Leaders Highlight Need for Water Affordability"},"content":{"rendered":"

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State policymakers continue\u00a0bipartisan\u00a0fight\u00a0to\u00a0lower\u00a0water costs\u00a0for Michiganders\u00a0around the state\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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LANSING, Mich. (March\u00a020, 2026) \u2014\u00a0In recognition of <\/span>World Water Day<\/a><\/u><\/span>\u00a0this\u00a0Sunday, March 22, Michigan legislators, human service agencies,\u00a0and\u00a0local\u00a0water advocates\u00a0are\u00a0promoting\u00a0awareness of\u00a0the statewide water affordability crisis and\u00a0continued\u00a0legislative efforts\u00a0to\u00a0tackle the issue.\u00a0In\u00a0response to rising water costs,\u00a0Sens. <\/span>Stephanie Chang <\/b>(D-Detroit), <\/span>Rosemary Bayer <\/b>(D-West Bloomfield), <\/span>John\u00a0Damoose <\/b>(R-Harbor Springs),\u00a0and\u00a0community leaders\u00a0discussed\u00a0modified\u00a0bipartisan\u00a0legislation from previous years that\u00a0would create a statewide water affordability program, provide\u00a0several\u00a0local options,\u00a0and limit water shutoffs for Michiganders struggling to make ends meet.\u00a0They also highlighted the need for appropriations for water affordability in the FY 2027 budget.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe need for this legislation is growing;\u00a0more Michiganders are struggling to make ends meet\u00a0\u2014\u00a0affordability for basic things like water and electricity, groceries and rent are among the foremost concerns for many of our residents,\u201d said Sen. Chang<\/b>. \u201cWe knew three years ago that more than 290,000 Michigan households would benefit from a statewide water affordability program, and with the increases in\u00a0water rates and\u00a0the cost of groceries and fuel in the past year, the numbers are likely even greater now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Despite being surrounded by\u00a020% of the world\u2019s fresh water, approximately\u00a0300,000\u00a0Michigan families \u2014 from our urban areas to our rural communities \u2014 face challenges affording their water bill.\u00a0And water costs continue to rise,\u00a0increasing\u00a0188% over the past four decades,\u00a0as water rates have doubled or even tripled in communities across Michigan.\u00a0To\u00a0address this issue,\u00a0Sen. Chang <\/b>and other\u00a0state legislators\u00a0introduced\u00a0Senate Bills 248-255\u00a0last year,\u00a0modified\u00a0from legislation introduced in 2023<\/a><\/u>,\u00a0which would secure the relief Michigan households need while strengthening public health and increasing the\u00a0stability of our\u00a0state\u2019s\u00a0water providers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFor all our residents, clean, reliable water is essential to our health and well-being. However, too many Michiganders face challenges\u00a0accessing\u00a0this essential resource,\u201d said Sen. Bayer<\/b>. \u201cBy addressing the rising cost of water, we can protect the health of families and communities statewide, while also lessening the financial burden stemming from strained household budgets and medical expenses caused by contaminated drinking water. On World Water Day,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0thrilled to uplift the bipartisan legislation\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been working on with my Senate colleagues, along with so many dedicated community leaders, that would tackle this public health crisis head-on and secure the relief Michigan households need and deserve.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cLow-income residential water customers carry a heavy burden paying for costly water, wastewater, and stormwater services, especially when local rates increase\u00a0annually,\u201d said Sylvia\u00a0Ordu\u00f1o<\/b>, Director at\u00a0People\u2019s Water Board Coalition.\u00a0\u201cWe need an affordability program for all Michiganders to protect families, seniors, and people with disabilities from water\u00a0insecurity.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen a household loses access to water, it\u2019s not just a utility issue; it\u2019s a crisis that affects children, seniors, and entire communities,\u201d\u00a0said Lt. Colonel Steven J. Merritt<\/b>, Divisional Commander at the Salvation Army Great Lakes Division.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This legislation has been\u00a0crafted\u00a0with\u00a0a dedicated\u00a0coalition of water providers from around the state, water advocates, community action agencies, faith groups, senior citizen advocacy organizations, and environmental groups.\u00a0It\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0combat\u00a0rising water costs\u00a0by\u00a0implementing\u00a0measures to prevent water shutoffs and\u00a0creating\u00a0a low-income water residential affordability program within the\u00a0Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services\u00a0(DHHS). This\u00a0program\u00a0would ensure\u00a0that households\u00a0at or below 200%\u00a0of the federal poverty level\u00a0do not pay more\u00a0than water\u00a0bills\u00a0do not exceed 3% of their household income for water bills.\u00a0The\u00a0bills would\u00a0also\u00a0include a local\u00a0option\u00a0for providers to create and fund their own water affordability program\u00a0or to opt out of collecting the $1.25 funding factor if they do not shut\u00a0off water.<\/div>\n

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\u201cAccess to water is a natural-born right,\u201d said <\/span>Jasmine Carson<\/b>, Executive Director at\u00a0Wayne\u00a0Metro Community Action Organization. \u201cWhen nearly 40,000 families reached out to Wayne Metro to inquire about water assistance and we had to turn many away, it became clear, this is not a small gap, it\u2019s a growing crisis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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To support the program, the package would\u00a0also\u00a0create a statewide Low-Income Water Affordability Fund based on a $1.25\/meter monthly funding factor on water bills and philanthropic donations.\u00a0Money collected from this method would then be disbursed to providers and program administrators within that same region.\u00a0This fund\u00a0closely mirrors\u00a0the Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP), for which every electric utility customer pays a small monthly fee to ensure that low-income households can get help with their energy bills. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cClean water is a\u00a0necessity \u2014\u00a0not a luxury,\u201d said Daniel Mahoney, <\/b>Mayor of Jackson. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0maintaining\u00a0critical infrastructure, but no one should lose access because they\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0afford it. These bills ensure every family can access safe, reliable water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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This\u00a0legislation\u00a0would\u00a0also\u00a0create a\u00a0task\u00a0force\u00a0representative of various\u00a0municipal governments,\u00a0environmental groups,\u00a0and others\u00a0representing\u00a0rural,\u00a0suburban\u00a0and urban communities,\u00a0responsible for advising DHHS on best practices for administering the program, developing educational outreach,\u00a0seeking\u00a0funding, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhile we hear so often about affordability and high and increasing utility costs, it is important that we think about water alongside electricity and gas,\u201d said Sen. Damoose. <\/b>\u201cI\u2019ve chosen to become involved in this bill package because I\u2019ve heard the stories of Michiganders who had their water shut\u00a0off and the changes to their daily lives that they had to make, and it\u2019s simply unacceptable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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To view the press conference, click here<\/a><\/u><\/span>.\u00a0Learn more about\u00a0Michigan\u2019s water affordability issue\u00a0at miwaterplan.com<\/a><\/u><\/span>.<\/div>\n
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State policymakers continue\u00a0bipartisan\u00a0fight\u00a0to\u00a0lower\u00a0water costs\u00a0for Michiganders\u00a0around the state\u00a0 LANSING, Mich. (March\u00a020, 2026) \u2014\u00a0In recognition of World Water Day\u00a0this\u00a0Sunday, March 22, Michigan legislators, human service agencies,\u00a0and\u00a0local\u00a0water advocates\u00a0are\u00a0promoting\u00a0awareness of\u00a0the statewide water affordability crisis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nOn World Water Day, Michigan Lawmakers,\u00a0Community Leaders Highlight Need for Water Affordability - 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