Some futurists depict Michigan and the Great Lakes as “climate havens” that will lure people and businesses weary of worsening drought, wildfire, hurricanes and other disasters. Not so fast, skeptics say.
Outsiders “see these five enormous lakes and assume there’s more than enough water for everybody,” said David Dempsey, an environmental analyst for government agencies and activist groups. “But we have tons of unresolved problems.”The Great Lakes region is striving to shed its worn out Rust Belt image by developing a “blue economy” that leverages its abundant fresh water.
Toxic chemicals known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, contaminate wells around the state. Industrial waste, farm runoff and sewage trigger algae blooms and prompt occasional warnings about swimming in the lakes or eating too many of their fish. Collectively, the Great Lakes region is believed to have enough groundwater to fill another Lake Huron. But it isn’t evenly distributed or accessible.
But in spots, thick clay prevents surface water from replenishing aquifers. Heavy pumping can send levels perilously low — and draw up salty remnants of oceans that covered the continent eons ago. It’s a sore point for Chip Rybicki, a fifth-grade teacher whose family was first to occupy a new cul-de-sac in next-door Blendon Township five years ago.
She has defeated several citations alleging violation of rural “noxious weed” and road vision ordinances after replacing water-gorging turf grass with native shrubs on her 5 acres.
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