Southeast Michigan's Water Legacy
Just as the water around us has shaped our lives, we have shaped our waterways over the years. Rapid industrialization and urbanization of this region created wealth and prosperity, but they have also contributed to water quality issues. The history of our waters is inseparable from the history of our region, and lessons from the past are essential to improving water quality for future generations.
In many ways, people are defined by water. The water we drink. The water we enjoy. There’s only one water. In Southeast Michigan, water is abundant. It shapes our communities. It gives us life. It is part of who we are. It is ours to protect. Prior to European settlement, our landscape and watersheds here looked different. The Anishinaabe peoples who first traveled these lands moved through forests and grasslands; they made their way over or around water and wetlands.
In the past few centuries, we’ve added a lot to the landscape. We’ve added people, buildings, industry, and much more. As we have developed the land and laid down roads to make travel easier for people, we have also built massive water systems that move water to where we need it and steer it away from the places we don’t.
Constrained by limited resources, our shared water systems are monitored and maintained every day by water professionals to ensure that we have reliable access to safe, fresh water.
Shaping our water's future, together
As water systems age and need updating, we continue to learn and innovate, enabling us to effectively manage water systems and other infrastructure resources with smart, coordinated investments. We have made some big strides in water quality in recent decades, addressing pollution and reviving some of our most significant waterways. We are learning more all the time about how to manage our water resources more sustainably. Wet weather events are becoming more intense and more frequent; our aging infrastructure systems do not have the capacity to handle these increased volumes, and resources to enhance the system are limited. Whether it is by participating on this task force, sweeping a storm drain, or planting a tree, there is something all of us can do to ensure our water resources are sustained for generations to come.
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To lean more, read our annual One Water Implementation Reports: