Join Our 2025 Walk, Paddle, & Roll by Supporting Jill’s Challenge
Will you help us to ensure that everyone has access to safe, clean water resources from source to tap? You can make a big difference today by donating to Freshwater Future’s Walk Paddle and Roll Challenge! Through September, Freshwater Future’s Board and Staff are taking on activities around the Great Lakes Region to raise $8,000.
The heart of our effort lies with our Executive Director, Jill Ryan. She’s committed to canoeing five miles in Michigan’s Muskegon Lake, fueled by her passion to raise both awareness and funds. Please consider a donation, big or small, to support Jill’s challenge and Freshwater Future’s work. Thank you for being a part of the solution!
#WeAreLakeErie – Gathers A Wave of Support for Lake Erie on Social Media
Thank you to everyone for sharing the love for Lake Erie on social media with the hashtag #WeAreLakeErie! Continue sharing pictures and experiences through August on social media with the hashtag #WeAreLakeErie to join the movement to protect what you love!
Fall Project Grant Q&A Webinar
Local community organizations – get ready for our Fall Project Grant cycle! Grants of up to $5000 are available for your group’s water advocacy projects. Registration is now open for the Q&A Webinar on Wednesday September 3rd at 12 pm ET. If you cannot attend, the recording will be sent out afterwards to all registrants and will also be posted online. Learn more from this Request for Proposals flyer and by visiting our Grant Programs web page. The deadline for grant applications is Tuesday September 30th. Contact Alana at Alana@freshwaterfuture.org with any questions.
Take Actions: Together, Our Voices Make a Difference
Deadline Approaching: Tell Michigan’s EGLE to Deny the Line 5 Tunnel Permit
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is accepting public comment on a Canadian fossil fuel company’s permit applications to build the Line 5 tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. The Company plans on replacing the current underwater and high-risk 72-year-old crude oil pipeline with a 4.3-mile tunnel drilled through the fragile rock bed underneath the Straits. Transporting fossil fuels in this manner, where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet, threatens the drinking water for over 40 million people, harming fisheries, and endangering the world’s largest source of surface freshwater. Send a quick message now and tell EGLE Director Phil Roos and Governor Whitmer to deny all permits for Line 5 and protect our Great Lakes! Comment closes Friday August 29rd.
Deadline Approaching: Support Improved Equity in the Michigan Water Fund
The Michigan State Revolving Fund program provides loans and grants to help communities keep water safe, clean, and affordable. To ensure these dollars reach the communities most in need, improved definitions of overburdened communities are needed that focus on measures of poverty rather than household income or property values. Every three years, the public can urge the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to make improvements, and the comment period is now open! Submit a written comment with our quick form by Friday August 29th!
Protect Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula’s Porcupine Mountains State Park
A foreign, inexperienced mining company is seeking start-up costs at both the Michigan state and federal levels to open the Copperwood mine immediately next to one of the most cherished parks in the nation. Tell key decision-makers in the U.S. federal government to deny taxpayer handouts for this heavily-polluting extraction project. Michigan residents – send Michigan lawmakers a message, too, to remove two grants from next year’s budget. Both the state and Congress will make funding decisions by the end of September. Please use your voice today to protect nearby Lake Superior and the State Park from air, noise, light, and toxic pollution.
Pennsylvania Municipality Stands Up for Affordable Water
As private water utilities seek to expand their portfolio of drinking water and wastewater systems, one Pennsylvania Borough has declared its intent to reject any offers to buy out its systems. While a formal purchase offer has yet to be made, representatives from these profit-driven companies made unsolicited outreach to the water system’s manager. Since any sale must be approved by the Union City Council, the council members sent a strong message to the interested parties – their unanimous, formal agreement to reject any offer to privatize their public water system, which would only worsen local water affordability. If your water system is considering privatization, learn more about the issue here and take action to ensure your local leaders protect ratepayers.
Canada Awards Funding to Great Lakes Restoration Projects
The Canada Water Agency demonstrated its ongoing financial commitment to the Great Lakes Freshwater Ecosystem Initiative. These twenty-six projects across Ontario will largely focus on wetland restoration, shoreline resilience, and nutrient management. Freshwater Future is proud that two former grantees, the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation and Severn Sound Environmental Association, were selected this year to continue their important work.
