Featured photo: WEL Coalition advocates celebrate the introduction of Michigan’s Affordable Water Now Legislative Package in Lansing, Michigan, on October 29, 2025.
PETOSKEY, MI (October 29, 2025) – The Affordable Water Now Legislative Package was introduced by Representatives Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing), Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield), Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint), Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) and Jimmie Wilson (D-Ypsilanti). The package was intended to give all Michigan residents access to safe, affordable water, without fear of shutoffs or unaffordable bills. Representatives are standing with advocates from the Water Equals Life (WEL) Coalition, co-founded by Freshwater Future, with an aim to set a new standard for affordable water policy. Furthermore, they state their goals are to strengthens public health, protects vulnerable families and ensures the financial stability of water providers.
Supporters of the proposed legislation emphasized that the package provides economic and health protections by:
Providing access: Helping to ensure everyone has safe, affordable water.
Using Income-Based Rates: Capping bills at no more than 3% of monthly income so all households, including tenants, can afford their water bill.
Stopping Shutoffs: Limit when utility providers can disconnect services.
Forgiving Debt: Creating pathways for water debt forgiveness.
Representative Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing) and Jill Ryan, Executive Director, Freshwater Future, highlight the Affordable Water Now Legislation Package introduction in Lansing, MI on October 29, 2025.
- House Bill 5088 (2023): This bill is the foundation of the package. It establishes a statewide Low-Income Water Residential Affordability Program within the Department of Health and Human Services.
- House Bill 5089 (2023): This bill creates the Low-Income Water Residential Affordability Program Fund to pay for the program’s costs, which is primarily supported by a monthly fee on residential water meters.
- House Bill 5090 (2023): This legislation establishes the Water Shutoff Protection Act, which sets standards for when a water provider can shut off water service for non-payment.
- House Bill 5091 (2023): This bill relates to landlord-tenant submetering, allowing tenants in metered properties to have the water bill transferred to their name.
- House Bills 5092 and 5093 (2023): These bills decriminalize water reconnections after a shutoff due to financial hardship.
Michigan’s Affordable Water Now Legislative Package includes bills in both the Senate and the House.
For the bills to become law, they must pass both the Senate and the House.
