Identify your municipality's water use and track it over time, noting both your achievements and areas for improvement. Assessing the amount of water and wastewater use generated by a municipality is an essential step in establishing a baseline from which to measure water efficiency and guide improvements over time. Efficiency upgrades will conserve both water and energy use.

Resources:

• Commercial Buildings
• Community Water Supply Asset Management
• Energy Efficiency for Water Utilities
• Wastewater Energy Management Toolkit
• Benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager
• Water Management Plans and Best Practices at EPA
• WaterSense Products
• Sustainable Development Code: Chapter 1.5 Water Conservation

Webinars & Workshops:

• Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure and Energy Savings with SWIFt

Community Examples:

• City of Ann Arbor Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance
• City of Traverse City Water System Asset Management Program
• Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency Water Residential Assistance Program

Ensure that public and private construction/development projects are done in a way that protects your watershed. Implement nonpoint source pollution prevention measures in all municipal projects and incentivize pollution control in private projects. Updates to zoning ordinances can also help control pollution by establishing required protocols and measures.

Resources:

• NPS BMP Manual, Other BMP Design References, and Pollutants Controlled
• Land Use Planning to Protect Water Quality
• Pollutant Load Estimation Tool
• Polluted Runoff: Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Resources for Watershed Planning
• Nonpoint Source Program

Webinars & Workshops:

• What Local Leaders Should Know about Water Resources Protection - Recording temporarily unavailable

Community Examples:

• Grand Traverse County Soil Erosion, Sedimentation, and Stormwater Runoff Control Ordinance
• Little Manistee River Watershed Management Plan
• Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG): How the City of Lansing Plans to Stop the Clog

Inspire low impact development (LID) projects in your community. LID is a site design strategy that uses practices to mitigate impacts on natural systems and encourage the use of natural processes to increase infiltration, reduce runoff, and improve water quality. Examples of LID, or green infrastructure, include rain gardens, green roofs, vegetated swales, native plant species, and permeable pavement.

Resources:

• Low Impact Development Manual for Michigan
• Urban Runoff: Low Impact Development
• Urban Runoff: Model Ordinances to Prevent and Control Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Sustainable Development Code Chapter 1.2: Low Impact Development and Stormwater Management
• Low Impact Development Center

Webinars & Workshops

• Green Infrastructure Webinar Series 

Community Examples:

• City of Detroit Green Stormwater Infrastructure Projects
• Washtenaw County Rain Gardens
• Rain Garden Rebate Program and Planting Guidebook

Reduce the impacts of severe weather events for residents, businesses, and the municipality by adopting policies and educating the community on green infrastructure and reducing impervious surfaces. Set restrictions on impervious (not allowing fluid to pass through) surfaces in your jurisdiction's planning documents, adopt a stormwater ordinance that properly manages runoff, and make sure community residents understand what they can do for their own properties.

Resources:

• Urban Runoff: Model Ordinances for Post Construction Controls
• Local Government Officials - Floodplain Management Resources
• Sustainable Development Code Chapter 2.1: Floodplain and River Corridor Land Use
• Municipal Stormwater Program
• What is Green Infrastructure?
• Redevelopment Ready Green Infrastructure Guide
• Green Infrastructure Design and Implementation
• Equity Guide for Green Stormwater Infrastructure Practitioners
• Southeast Michigan Water Infrastructure Planning Guide

Webinars & Workshops:

• PFAS in Stormwater: Treatability and Implications of Emerging Water Quality Standards for Stormwater Discharges - Recording temporarily unavailable
• Floodplains 101: What you Need to Know About the Floodplains in Your Community - Recording temporarily unavailable
• Climate and Weather Tools for Stormwater Planning in the Great Lakes Region
• Green Infrastructure Webinar Series

Community Examples:

• Supporting Stormwater Management Initiatives for Community Resilience in East Lansing
• City of Kalamazoo Protect Your Water
• City of Detroit Stormwater Management and Drainage Charge
• City of St. Clair Regulations of Floodplain Areas
• Meridian Township Stormwater Management
• City of Ann Arbor Floodplain Management
• Superior Watershed Partnership Water Quality and Stormwater Management
• Green Macomb Initiative
• Washtenaw County Green Infrastructure Practices

Plan for and adapt to greatly fluctuating water levels by adopting policies that will protect residents and infrastructure. For coastal and waterfront communities, minimum shoreland setback standards and regular seawall inspections will help ensure residents' safety.

Resources:

• Natural Features Setback Ordinances
• Sustainable Development Code Chapter 2.3: Coastal Hazards
• Coastal Management Program
• Shorelands Management Program
• Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Planning Guide
• Sustainable Small Harbors Tools and Tactics Guidebook

Webinars & Workshops:

• How Community Leaders Can Promote Resilient Coastal Management and Improve Water Infrastructure in Michigan
• Resilient Michigan Collaborative: Help your Coastal Community Thrive - Recording temporarily unavailable
• Coastal Leadership Academy: Becoming a Resilient Community Leader - Recording temporarily unavailable
• Nature-Based Solutions for Coastal Hazards:  The Basics

Community Examples:

• Ann Arbor Charter Township Natural Features Setback
• Grand Haven Charter Township Planning for Costal Resilience
• Great Lakes Communities Use Scenario Planning to Prepare for Rising Waters
• Milwaukee County, WI Coastline Management Guidelines

Protect the health of your watershed by working with residents and the local health department to understand and address the impact of failing septic systems. Evaluate the condition of septic systems in your jurisdiction using water quality testing and install sewer systems in high density areas when possible. Ensure community members understand septic system maintenance and offer financing resources to help replace failing systems.

Resources:

• Septic Systems Outreach Toolkit
• Onsite Wastewater Program
• Septic Systems (Decentralized/Onsite Systems)
• Septic System Education
• National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association

Webinars & Workshops:

Community Examples:

• Berrien County Onsite Septic System Information
• Wayne County Septic/Onsite Sewage Information
• Livingston County Septic Systems