Traverse City, Mich. — Flow Water Advocates opposes the proposed federal environmental budget, which includes major cuts to programs that protect clean water, public health, and the Great Lakes. “Thes...

The Clean Water Act (CWA) was enacted in 1972, with the objective of “restor[ing] and maintain[ing] the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”1 The CWA’s core purpose is...

We love our neighbors to the north, but Enbridge is trying to build public support for the tunnel by convincing Michiganders that we’re dependent on Line 5 — but is it true? Let’s do the math. Downloa...

Every year on March 22, people around the world recognize World Water Day—a time to reflect on just how essential water is to our lives, our communities, and our future. Here in Michigan, water isn’t ...

In February 2025,  Flow and students from the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) graduate program teamed up for a 16-month initiative to examine Michigan’s groun...

Watch the septic webinar recording on YouTube. Traverse City, Mich. – Michigan’s water and public health are threatened by an estimated 330,000 failing septic systems, but new legislation (SB 771) rec...

Read the comments In a joint effort to protect water quality and community health in mid-Michigan, the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) and Flow Water Advocates (Flow) have submitted de...

On February 3, 2026, Flow, in partnership with Michiganders for a Just Farming System, hosted a virtual watch party for the KB Dairy public hearing. KB Dairy is a proposed CAFO facility in Gratiot Cou...

Flow Water Advocates formally urged the Michigan Public Service Commission to reject the proposed sale of 13 Michigan hydroelectric dams from Consumers Energy to a private equity–backed affiliate of H...

Download PDF Our invisible water crisis. Michigan faces a long-standing and largely invisible water quality crisis driven by failing septic systems. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes...

On December 31, 2025, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Act (OSLTF) expired.1 The OSLTF was first authorized to tax oil producers in 1990, and provided funds for federal responses to oil spills and c...

By Dave Dempsey, Flow Senior Advisor My first memory of my nephew Michael comes from playing peekaboo. Using a toy with a see-through panel, I ducked in and out of view to his appreciative baby laught...

The role of indigenous cultures in sustainably living in relationship with wetlands is the theme of World Wetlands Day, February 2. In Michigan and the Great Lakes watershed, the theme has special rel...

January 28, 2026 Lansing, Mich. – Today in the Michigan Senate, Sen. Sam Singh (D-28) introduced legislation to establish the state’s first-ever comprehensive framework for the oversight and maintenan...

Download Flow’s reply brief (PDF) Traverse City, Mich. — On January 23, Flow Water Advocates (“Flow”) filed its reply to the arguments raised by Enbridge Limited Energy LLC, the Michigan Public Servic...

Download PDF At issue: The rapid rise of data centers in our communities Data centers are multiplying across America in response to increases in computing intensity, including the growing use of artif...

On January 5, 2026, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition (HOW), a group of organizations (including Flow Water Advocates) that are committed to protecting water resources and communities acros...

Register for the virtual public hearing on February 3, 6pm: Register here Learn more about the proposed permit: Download the fact sheet On February 3, The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lak...

As Flow Water Advocates’ inaugural Denis and Martha Pierce Environmental Law Fellow, Hope McLellan-Brandt supports Flow’s legal work to defend the Great Lakes. She graduated from Vermont Law School in...

November 17, 2025 [ DOWNLOAD: Flow Water Advocates Brief on Appeal (PDF) ]   Traverse City, Mich. — Flow Water Advocates (“Flow”) has filed a brief in its appeal of the Michigan Public Service Commiss...

Why we oppose House Bill 4385: A threat to Michigan’s shorelines, the Public Trust, and the Great Lakes. House Bill 4385, currently being considered in the Michigan Legislature, would weaken critical ...

This month, people across the globe celebrated Human Rights Day. Every year on December 10th, the world celebrates the anniversary of “one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Univer...

Traverse City, Mich. — On December 17, the District Court for the Western District of Michigan issued its opinion in Enbridge v. Whitmer. The federal case was brought by the Canadian oil company to st...

by Liz Kirkwood, Executive Director For fourteen years, Flow Water Advocates has stood on a simple, powerful truth: The waters of the Great Lakes belong to everyone—and must be protected for all time....

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is taking public comments on Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 pipeline tunnel through August 29, 2025. The State of Michigan now has th...

YouTube video by Flow Water Advocates

The Great Lakes are a way of life in Michigan—a place for fun, recreation, enjoying nature and creating lasting memories with family and friends. While healthy lakes are critical for the state’s cultu...

Advocates say information about the state's findings on the Wyandotte water system should have been available to the public much earlier.