Michiganders join together to safeguard our Great Lakes and waters

The annual report – prepared and submitted to the state Legislature by EGLE’s Office of the Great Lakes on behalf of the Governor each calendar year by law – explores major accomplishments, issues, initiatives, and challenges in 15 magazine-style articles by members of academia; advocacy organizations; and state, federal, tribal, and local agencies. The report also includes introductory messages from Roos and Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“Our Great Lakes are second to none,” the Governor wrote. “As Michiganders, we understand better than most that it should be one of our top priorities to be good stewards to preserve something that is a basic human need: clean, fresh water.”

Many already know that the Great Lakes hold 21% of the world’s fresh surface water and provide drinking water for more than 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada. Some may even know Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and 76,000 miles of rivers and streams, or that Michiganders are never more than six miles from a body of water – not counting groundwater. Here’s a by-the-numbers look at facts and figures from each article in the new report:

• 0% loans for stormwater infrastructure: The fiscal year 2025 interest rate to support stormwater-only projects through Michigan’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund is 0% for up to $5 million.
• 1% loans for new septic systems: The new Septic Replacement Loan Program provides low-interest loans to help Michigan homeowners repair or replace failing septic systems that can cost $30,000 or more.
• “3P” learning: The state’s From Students to Stewards initiative is expanding to provide more students and schools with access to experience the Great Lakes and engage with STEM-based educational approaches based on places, problems, and projects.
• Three goals for protecting coastal wetlands: A new blueprint tool will guide conservation planning for lands valued for tourism, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activity.
• Five Great Lakes crossed: A paddle boarder with a disability shows how connections to water can improve physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.
• Five-year scientific monitoring cycle: The Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) rotates through five yearlong phases of study at the four Great Lakes bordering Michigan plus Lake Ontario: setting priorities, planning projects, collecting field samples, analyzing data, and reporting results.
• 30% land and water conservation goal: The statewide Michigan the Beautiful initiative is bringing Michiganders together to conserve, connect, and restore at least 30% of Michigan’s waters and lands by 2030 to meet state climate goals and ensure a thriving, resilient landscape for all.
• 40% improvement in water use efficiency: New smart irrigation systems hold promise for improving best practices for conserving water in agriculture and beyond.
• 40 years championing the Great Lakes: That’s the milestone anniversary the OGL reaches this year. Building on those four decades, the office will support work on a wide range of priorities in 2025, including the From Students to Stewards Initiative, a sustainable strategy for Michigan’s maritime sector, plastics pollution, and water conservation.
• More than 65 partners targeting phosphorus: A community advisory group with members from the Western Lake Erie Basin and beyond – five Michigan counties plus statewide members and representatives from Ohio and Indiana – is facilitating public engagement to develop priorities and approaches to reducing phosphorus and averting algal blooms that can pollute drinking water and harm the environment.
• 1,805 Arctic grayling fish stocked: In a preliminary move to reintroduce the long-gone Arctic grayling to Michigan, a dedicated partnership stocked the fish in three northern lakes to allow fishing before the first round of stream reintroductions planned for this year. A similar effort aims to bring back lake whitefish river runs.
• $200,000 for the Michigan Maritime Strategy: EGLE awarded a University of Michigan team a grant to collaboratively map a route to boost the maritime sector while emphasizing clean energy, sustainability, and equity.
• $500,000 state investment for Detroit River sediment remediation: Work continues at 11 Areas of Concern including the Detroit River, where team efforts target more than a century’s worth of polluted sediment. Previously, the White Lake, Menominee River, and Deer Lake contamination sites were successfully restored and “delisted,” or removed from Michigan’s original Areas of Concern list.
• More than $3.6 million to restore and revitalize Ox Creek: Benton Harbor and partners continue to pursue funding as the community-driven project rolls forward. Highlights in 2024 included funding from the State Land Bank Blight Elimination Program to help demolish a long-standing eyesore along the creek corridor and marine debris removal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to clean up large trash and prevent future dumping.
• $388 million to block invasive carp: In 2024, Michigan and Illinois signed an interstate agreement freeing $274 million in federal funds and $114 million in state funds for a long-term project to keep invasive carp in the Chicago Area Waterway System from entering the Great Lakes.

The report comes out once a year, but the OGL develops policy and implements strategic programs to protect, restore, and sustain the Great Lakes watershed every day.

The office collaborates with partner organizations to support sustainable water use and development of Great Lakes maritime resources; support vibrant and resilient communities; foster water stewardship; and advance science, research, and policy to solve the next generation of water challenges.

Its mission is to ensure a healthy environment, strong water-focused blue economy, and high quality of life for Michiganders. 

“This annual report calls us as Michiganders to reflect on stewardship of our water wonderland,” said Emily Finnell, Great Lakes senior advisor and strategist with the OGL. “I believe every reader will find cause for celebration along with motivation to do even better.”