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Drinking WaterGreat Lakes News CollaborativeLatest NewsLeadMichiganNewsPolitics, Policy, Environmental JusticeCheck this Michigan map for childhood lead levels in your community
-Overall, the percentage of Michigan children with elevated blood lead levels has been falling for more than two decades, from nearly a third of children tested in 2000 to just 2.5 percent of children tested in 2020. But those statewide gains can be deceptively reassuring.
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Drinking WaterFeature LeadGreat Lakes News CollaborativeInfrastructureLatest NewsLeadMichiganNewsPolitics, Policy, Environmental JusticeWater Quality and Restoration EffortsWhy are so many Michigan water systems finding lead? They’re looking harder
-Benton Harbor is likely just the beginning. Since the southwest Michigan community’s prolonged lead-in-water crisis began making national headlines this fall, residents of Hamtramck, Wayne and Manchester have all learned that their water, too, exceeded government lead standards.
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Michigan’s balmy October means more mosquitos, peril for coldwater fish
-Nearly three weeks into October, much of Michigan remains stuck in early autumn mode, fueling frustration for fall anglers, exaltation for late-season swimmers, and itchiness for anyone who ventures outside for too long without bug spray.
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As Michigan lawmakers ponder septic repair funds, Ohio offers a model
-When Mary Ellen Sementilli and her family moved into their creekside home in Ohio’s Appalachian region, the septic system worked like a charm. Which is to say, it was easy to forget it was there. But the family has grown in the years since, which has meant more dishwashing, showers and toilet flushes — too much for Sementilli’s septic system to handle.
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Enbridge Line 5 and Other PipelinesEquity and Environmental JusticeGreat Lakes News CollaborativeIndigenous CommunitiesIndustry, Energy, Economic DevelopmentLatest NewsMichiganNewsOntarioPolitics, Policy, Environmental JusticeTribal Governments and First NationsU.S. and Canadian Federal GovernmentsMichigan tribes to Biden: Enbridge Line 5 threatens our treaty rights
-As Canada leans on an international treaty to keep oil flowing through Line 5, Michigan Native American tribal leaders want the Biden administration to acknowledge that the pipeline’s fate affects their treaty rights, too.
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Drinking WaterEquity and Environmental JusticeFeature LeadGreat Lakes News CollaborativeLatest NewsLeadNewsWater Quality and Restoration EffortsIn Benton Harbor, residents’ complaints of lead-tainted water carry echoes
-Dangerously high lead levels have appeared in water tests in this low-income, majority Black community since 2018. Residents and activists say they fear the problem dates back longer, with Flint’s crisis as a backdrop.
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Enbridge Line 5 and Other PipelinesGreat Lakes News CollaborativeLatest NewsMichiganNewsOntarioPolitics, Policy, Environmental JusticeQuebecU.S. and Canadian Federal GovernmentsWater Quality and Restoration EffortsHoping to avoid Enbridge Line 5 shutdown, Canada asks U.S. to negotiate
-The Canadian government wants a federal judge to halt Michigan’s efforts to shut down the Line 5 pipeline until Canadian and U.S. diplomats can talk it out.
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Michigan parks are popular, but underfunded. They want some COVID money.
-Michigan’s state and local parks have long struggled to find funds to keep up with basic maintenance, a reality that has left grass unmowed, pavement cracked and equipment badly outdated.
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Beaches, Boating, Paddle Sports and SailingGreat Lakes News CollaborativeLatest NewsMichiganNewsRecreation and TourismMichiganders to face tickets next spring for swimming in dangerous waves
-The new policy, which takes effect in May, applies only to state-owned beaches. It would not apply to local parks, national lakeshores, privately owned coastal land or other non-state beaches.
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Report: Shoddy construction, ignored threats led to Edenville Dam collapse
-An independent investigation into last year’s Edenville Dam failure provides new details into how known deficiencies at the dam likely contributed to its collapse. It also raises warnings for safety officials looking to prevent failures at other old, earthen dams.