Food & Water Watch

Pipeline Fights

We are fighting several oil and gas pipelines that threaten our communities and drinking water:

Shutting Down Line 5 – Line 5 is a set of 64-year-old pipelines owned by Enbridge that run beneath the Straits of Mackinac and transport 22.7 million gallons of oil and natural gas through the Great Lakes each day. A University of Michigan study identified the Straits of Mackinac as the “worst possible place” in the Great Lakes for an oil spill, and Line 5 is one leak away from devastating our economy, our environment and the drinking water source for roughly 35 million people. We are working with our partners in the Oil & Water Don’t Mix campaign to shut down Line 5 to protect our Great Lakes from this looming threat. Together, we have worked with over 70 local municipalities and Indigenous Nations to pass resolutions calling on Governor Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette to shut down Line 5.

Stopping the ET Rover and NEXUS Pipelines – The ET Rover and NEXUS pipelines are two natural gas pipelines that would transport fracked natural gas from the East Coast of the U.S. through Ohio and Michigan to a station in Ontario, CA. The pipelines are redundant and unnecessary. NEXUS is still moving through its approval process and the ET Rover pipeline project was approved in 2016. We are working to support impacted landowners and community members as they continue to fight to stop these pipelines.

Making Water Service Safe and Affordable for All

We’re working to ensure that everyone in Michigan has access to safe drinking water. Two of our biggest local fights right now are:

Detroit – In 2014, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) began shutting off water at thousands of Detroit residences leaving thousands of families, children and seniors without access to water for bathing, flushing toilets, drinking, cleaning, cooking, operating life saving medical equipment and caring for sick loved ones. Food & Water Watch, along with our allies in the People’s Water Board Coalition and the Blue Planet Project, worked to submit a report to the United Nations highlighting this violation of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. The United Nations agreed!

Over three years later, the inhumane water shut-offs persist in Detroit, and we continue to work with our allies in the People’s Water Board Coalition to ensure that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is a reality for all Detroiters. We’re calling for an end to the water shut-offs in Detroit and restoration of water service to those that have been disconnected and we’re working with the Detroit City Council to pass and implement an income-based water affordability plan. We will also continue to fight any attempt to privatize the public water system.

Flint – Food & Water Watch first began working in Flint in March of 2015 when we were alerted by a supporter about high water rates and impending water shut-offs. In fact, our report The State of Public Water, revealed that Flint residents were paying the highest drinking water rates in the country… and for water that was unsafe to drink!

We have been supporting the work of residents on the ground since the Flint Water Crisis began, and helped to get them switched back to a safe water supply. We will continue to work with residents and our partners on the ground to ensure that all the lead pipes in Flint are replaced and that all Flint residents have safe water services that they can afford. We will work to ensure that no one will lose their home because they can’t afford the cost of their water bill, and that the people responsible for causing the Flint Water Crisis are held accountable.

Fighting Factory Farms

In Michigan, taxpayers are paying millions of dollars in government subsidies to factory farms that are creating massive amounts of pollution causing damage to our environment and creating major public health risks. Food & Water Watch is working with our partners in the Less = More ampaign to put an end to the government subsidies that are going to factory farms and instead prioritize that funding for sustainable agriculture practices.

Taking Back the Tap

Food & Water Watch is working with students at Aquinas College and Central Michigan University to stop the sale of bottled water on their campuses:

Central Michigan University – The student government successfully passed legislation to phase out bottled water from their campus at the end of 2013, and saw that hard work pay off when the first campus store stopped selling bottled water in 2017. 

Aquinas College – After just one year of campaigning, over 20 percent of the student population had signed the petition to phase out bottled water on their campus in 2016! We know it’s only a matter of time before phasing out bottled water is a reality on their campus too.