Kildee Delivers New Federal Funds to Ensure Clean Water, Improve Water Systems in Mid-Michigan

SAGINAW—Congressman Dan Kildee, Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today announced more than $212 million in new federal funds to improve water infrastructure and ensure clean drinking water in Michigan. Kildee also announced a $15 million grant to the city of Saginaw to build a new water tower that will improve drinking water safety, affordability and reliability.

On Friday, Kildee invited White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to Saginaw to help announce these new federal funds. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Debra Shore, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Director Liesl Clark and local labor, environmental and government officials in Saginaw also joined for the announcement.

"In the richest country in the world, access to safe, affordable and reliable drinking water should be a right," said Congressman Kildee. "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering for mid-Michigan by improving our water infrastructure, ensuring access to clean drinking water and creating thousands of good-paying union jobs. In Congress, I will continue working to bring federal resources home to mid-Michigan."

The $212,885,000 announced by Kildee today is the result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It is the second installment of five yearly installments to Michigan for water infrastructure. This funding will help to update water infrastructure, remove lead pipes, and protect drinking water from harmful per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination across the state. It will also help prevent flooding, collect and treat wastewater to protect public health and safeguard vital waterways, including the Great Lakes.

Additionally, the $15 million grant, awarded to the city of Saginaw, is fully funded by federal dollars Congressman Kildee secured. With this funding, the city will build a water tower to ensure the resiliency and safety of the local water system, which serves 170,000 people in the Saginaw region.

"President Biden has been clear—we cannot leave any community behind as we rebuild America's infrastructure with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," said White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu. "Because of his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly half of the additional SRF funding will now be grants or forgivable loans, making accessing these critical water resources easier for small, rural and disadvantaged communities."

"The historic investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is accelerating critical infrastructure upgrades in communities, especially those overburdened by water challenges," said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. "EPA is proud to partner with Michigan to maximize the benefits of these resources—including modernized infrastructure, lead service line replacement, and increased resiliency to climate impacts—in communities where they're most needed."

"These projects and others like them throughout our state will help provide protections for the environment and for the 10 million Michiganders who rely on the Great Lakes system for drinking water," said Michigan EGLE Director Liesl Clark. "It is incredibly exciting to see real progress made on modernizing water systems—particularly those that have deteriorated from decades of disinvestment."

"The City of Saginaw is dedicated to providing safe, clean, reliable, drinking water to city residents, as well as to our 20 wholesale customer communities located in Saginaw County and portions of Bay and Tuscola Counties," said Saginaw City Manager Tim Morales. "Our system is benefiting from federal investment, and we are pleased that the infrastructure dollars announced today will support other projects throughout Michigan for years to come, greatly improving the reliability and integrity of our state's water supply systems."

Congressman Kildee led efforts to include funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to remove lead service lines and recently introduced bipartisan legislation to protect Michigan families from lead. Most recently, Kildee introduced legislation to help more communities finance the removal of lead service lines. Congressman Kildee is also co-chair of the Bipartisan PFAS Task Force with a record of advocating cleaning up PFAS chemical contamination. Congressman Kildee has worked with Republicans and Democrats at all levels of government to address PFAS contamination. Kildee has previously introduced legislation to speed up set a national drinking water standard for PFAS, clean-up efforts and detect PFAS contamination at other sites across the country.