This is part one in a two-part series looking at the cost of water in Ontario. Find the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s series on cost of water in Michigan here.
Canadians living in the Great Lakes basin have perhaps become spoiled at the seemingly endless availability of water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-aging-infrastructure-rising-costs/
When Monty and Rose – Chicago’s beloved piping plover pair – first successfully nested at Montrose Beach, a popular place on the city’s north side, people celebrated the potential return of a dying bird species and were charmed by the adorable tiny birds.
The Great Lakes piping plover population has been a U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/monty-passes-rose-location-question/
The Great Lakes News Collaborative looks at the cost of water in the region and beyond.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/waters-true-cost-episode-2205/
I Speak for the Fish is a new monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/trout-feeding-frenzy/
By Mike Wilkinson and Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/decisive-action-2020-dam-disaster/
Lynn Broaddus has little patience for cities who focus on the reasons why they can’t replace lead service lines.
She understands that finances are a big part of the problem but says too often cities focus on the barriers, instead of what’s possible.
Broaddus is the recent past-president and now a trustee with the international group Water Environment Federation, a non-profit focused on increasing the awareness of the impact and value of water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/water-executive-creative-replacing-lead-service-lines/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/pfas-news-roundup-farmland-polluted-pfas-childrens-clothes/
By Briana Rice, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/detroit-river-world-heritage-site/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigan-state-parks-covid/
Aiming to better coordinate efforts to restore the Great Lakes, promote related educational opportunities, and boost the region’s economic prospects, an Ohio legislator crafted a bill to create a federal Great Lakes Authority.
Since Rep. March Kaptur, D-Toledo, and several other Democrats introduced the bill in Congress this spring, not much has happened.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-great-lakes-authority/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-infrastructure-windfall/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigan-water-systems-overbuilt-underfunded/
By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Federal funding mechanisms for improving Indiana’s water infrastructure work but need more flexibility to help eliminate lead service lines, PFAS and other issues, according to testimony from one of the state’s top finance officials.
Jim McGoff, Indiana Finance Authority chief operating officer and director of environmental programs, testified March 29 before the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/indiana-finance-authority-house-drinking-water-hearing/
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A judge granted a seven-week extension Monday to file claims for a share of $626 million settlement over Flint’s lead-contaminated water.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy approved a request to stretch the May 12 deadline to June 30.
“Although it is clear that all involved are working diligently to compile the information and documentation necessary to support claims, some claimants have experienced delays or difficulties in obtaining certain required documents,” Levy said, quoting a summary by special master Deborah Greenspan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/flint-residents-extension-file-claims/
Every year thousands of anglers participate in fishing tournaments across the Great Lakes, with prizes ranging from a couple hundred bucks to tens of thousands of dollars. Some, like the Lake Erie Fall Brawl, offer new fishing boats valued at more than $100,000 as top prizes. Some events are targeted toward professional anglers, while others pair a professional angler and an amateur angler.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/fishing-tournament-trends-kayaks-catch-photo-release/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/high-cost-water-hits-home-michigan/
Wheeze. Sniffle. Sneeze.
If you already suffer from seasonal allergies, get ready for more severe symptoms as the Great Lakes region experiences climate change in the coming decades.
Atmospheric scientist Allison Steiner of the University of Michigan and some colleagues recently published a new study about the impacts of climate change on pollen season in the Midwest and beyond.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-climate-change-allergies/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/short-changing-michigan-local-governments-deteriorating-water-systems/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/drinking-water-news-roundup-first-nation-settlement-wisconsin-towns-chicago-water/
From TV segments to news articles, collaborative work with partners to social media strategy, environmentally focused coverage to community news, Great Lakes Now walked away from the Society of Professional Journalists – Detroit Chapter’s 2022 Excellence in Journalism award ceremony with a dozen acknowledgements for the work the regional team did in 2021.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/great-lakes-now-collects-12-journalism-awards/
By David A. Lieb, Michael Casey and Michelle Minkoff, Associated Press
Constructed four generations ago, the massive rock and clay dam at El Capitan Reservoir is capable of storing over 36 billion gallons of water, enough to supply every resident in San Diego for most of a year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-analysis-growing-number-of-dams/
In 1972, the federal Clean Water Act proclaimed an ambitious goal – “fishable, swimmable” waters across the U.S. by 1983. Today, just over half of assessed river and stream miles across the U.S. remain too polluted for swimming and recreation, aquatic life, fish consumption, or as drinking water sources.
That assessment comes from a newly released report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), a non-profit group founded in 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/outdated-clean-water-act-polluted-rivers/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/midland-dam-failures-report/
By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
From warming water to shifting growing seasons, Ontario is already seeing the effects of climate change. But for the most part, Doug Ford and his government say, the province’s natural resources are doing just fine.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/report-ontario-natural-resources/
By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
Major weather events accounted for more than a third of the time Ohio customers of regulated electric utilities went without power last year, according to an Energy News Network review of data filed with state regulators.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/storms-ohio-electric-grid-climate-change/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-septic-system-problems-lakes/
By David Sharp, Associated Press
California and 15 states that want the U.S. Postal Service to electrify its mail delivery vehicles are suing to halt purchases of thousands of gas-powered trucks as the agency modernizes its delivery fleet.
Three separate lawsuits, filed Thursday by the states and environmental groups in New York and California, ask judges to order a more thorough environmental review before the Postal Service moves forward with the next-generation delivery vehicle program.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-states-electrify-usps-lawsuits/
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
In 2014, the legacy problem of lead pipes throughout the nation came to a head in Flint, Michigan, when the city emergency manager’s decision to switch the water source and not treat it to prevent corrosion led to lead leaching from the pipes into the city’s drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/michigans-water-systems-city-populations/
By Kelly House
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/water-woes-michigan-suburbs-disinvestment/
By Lester Graham
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/rural-towns-drinking-water-systems/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway wants to spend $425,000 to design a system to filter PFAS chemicals out of a city well.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported Monday that the mayor said the system would be the first in Wisconsin designed to filter the so-called “forever chemicals” out of drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/madison-mayor-pfas-filtration-system/
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — State regulation of streams that flow temporarily after rainfall will be restricted under legislation signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
Construction companies, the mining industry and other business groups say removing so-called ephemeral streams from regulation would make Ohio’s practice consistent with federal law.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ohio-law-state-regulation-streams/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
There are many similarities between Toronto’s lower Don River and metropolitan Detroit’s Rouge River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/great-lakes-moment-don-rouge-rivers/
This story is part of “Water’s True Cost,” a series by the Great Lakes News Collaborative focused on the rising cost of water in Michigan and the various causes leading to the state of water systems today. Find the rest of the stories in the series here.
PONTIAC, Mich.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/bill-michigans-water-infrastructure/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/pfas-news-roundup-face-masks-fast-food-chains-sued/
On the cool morning of April 25, doctoral student Eric Ste Marie from the University of Windsor’s department of integrative biology went out for a walk with his partner along the Detroit River prior to an anticipated long day in his lab. Much to his surprise, he saw an animal pop its head out of the water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/river-otters-detroit-river/
Great Lakes Now episodes are packed with interesting history and modern discoveries.
In “Mushrooms and Mobsters,” learn about one of the largest organisms in the world, the fungus that put Crystal Falls, Michigan, on the map. Dig into the past as we look at some of the notable gangsters of the ‘30s and ‘40s that vacationed in by the lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/mushrooms-mobsters-episode-quiz/
Great Lakes Now episodes are packed with interesting history and modern discoveries.
In “Mushrooms and Mobsters,” learn about one of the largest organisms in the world, the fungus that put Crystal Falls, Michigan, on the map. Dig into the past as we look at some of the notable gangsters of the ‘30s and ‘40s that vacationed in by the lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/mushrooms-mobsters-episode-quiz/
The issue of invasive species has haunted the Great Lakes region for decades, but a recent study shows that regulatory intervention can actually help stem the problem.
The study, released by McGill University and the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, looked at the bi-national regulation of ballast water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/regulation-invasive-species-great-lakes/
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Coal-related interests sued on April 28 to block the centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change, a carbon-pricing policy that will impose a cost for emitting planet-warming carbon dioxide from fossil fuel-fired power plants.
The lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court by owners of coal-fired power plants, owners of coal mines and labor unions that mine coal and maintain the power plants say the regulation written by Wolf’s administration is “patently unlawful.”
The regulation took effect Saturday after a long regulatory vetting process and fights with a hostile Legislature controlled by Republicans who are historically protective of Pennsylvania’s coal and natural gas industries.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/coal-interests-carbon-policy/
The Great Lakes region may be best known for its freshwater resources, but another resource it has in abundance is its maple syrup. Canada is the world’s leading producer of maple syrup, generating 75% of the global supply. Within Canada, the province of Quebec is the top producer (96.4%) of maple syrup products followed by Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/mapping-the-great-lakes-sugar-maples/
By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials have agreed to craft a new habitat plan for the snow-loving Canada lynx that could include more land in Colorado and other western states where the rare animals would be protected, according to a legal agreement made public Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-canada-lynx-protections-deal/
As the nation prepares to pour billions of federal dollars into rescuing water systems, the Great Lakes News Collaborative investigates the true cost of water in Michigan with a special series of reports and events during May. Reporters from Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now, and Michigan Radio have combined their resources for the most extensive coverage on the cost of water in Michigan to date.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/great-lakes-news-collaborative-waters-true-cost/
By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
When the Doug Ford government first announced plans to expand Ontario’s Greenbelt, it called the move a “once in a generation opportunity.”
The initial concept, presented by Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark in February 2021, involved ambitious plans to include waterways under the Greenbelt’s protection and stretch its boundaries to encompass a large swath of land west of Toronto.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/doug-fords-expansion-ontario-greenbelt/
“Listen to your elders” is something we often hear, and what could be more of an elder than a 2,500-year-old fungus that’s alive and well in the Great Lakes region.
In 1992, scientist and forest pathologist Johann Bruhn discovered a very large mycelium – the root-like structure forming a fungal colony – in Crystal Falls, Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/life-lessons-big-mushroom/
By Marc Levy, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More than two years after he started work on it, Gov. Tom Wolf is set to enact the centerpiece of his plan to fight climate change, making Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy — but it might be a short-lived victory.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-greenhouse-gas-state-climate-step/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Friday signed an executive order creating a new office of environmental justice, announcing the move on Earth Day.
Republicans last year removed the office from Evers’ proposed budget. But the Democrat up for reelection this November got around them by creating it through an executive order.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/ap-evers-office-environmental-justice/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes.
Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/climate-change-pricing-carbon/
This lesson will explore the phenomenon of fungal networks in the city of Crystal Falls, MI to help students learn some of the science of the fungi kingdom. They will learn how fungi help plants to communicate with each other and contribute to everyday foods we enjoy. Learners will engage in experiments to investigate the factors that affect mold growth on bread, how temperature influences yeast growth, and create a model to explain fungal networks.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/2204-fungus-lesson-plan/
Throughout the Great Lakes region and across the United States, water systems are aging.
In some communities, this means water bills that residents can’t afford or water that’s unsafe to drink. It’s also leading to increased pollution in some of Michigan’s most pristine lakes. From shrinking older cities and small towns to the comparatively thriving suburbs, the true cost of water has been deferred for decades.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/waters-true-cost-events/
