Infrastructure
Michigan municipalities play a substantial role in the planning, development, and management of our state’s infrastructure—including water and waste systems, energy, transportation, housing and commercial buildings, communications systems, and much more. Resilient, safe, and effective infrastructure is essential to the quality of life of our residents and prosperity of our communities. The resources below provide essential information and guidance for planning and managing community infrastructure.
Supplemental Green Infrastructure Guide
The MI Water Navigator Project has been a pivotal initiative designed to assist Michigan’s local governments—particularly those from disadvantaged and economically overburdened communities—in securing funding for critical water infrastructure projects. Spearheaded by the Michigan Municipal League Foundation (MML Foundation), in partnership with OHM Advisors, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, Masco Corporate Giving, and the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Environment (EGLE), the project provided tailored technical assistance to help communities access funding programs.
Through the MI Water Navigator platform, we assisted over 174 communities as they worked to understand programs like the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and EGLE Source Water Protection Grant application process, among many others. Our team worked with overburdened communities to answer questions and prepare applications. The work with these communities emphasized the critical need for assistance in securing funding. It highlighted large gaps in community preparedness, reinforcing the need for and importance of comprehensive assistance for overburdened communities to be competitive in securing federal and state water funding.
MI Water Navigator has now been fully transitioned to its permanent home as part of the MI Funding Hub—an “all of infrastructure” expansion of the MI Water Navigator and Michigan Municipal League (the League) ServeMI City programs. The MI Funding Hub is operated by the League and funded by the MI Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO).