Michiganders have lived with water insecurity for years. Detroit’s mass shutoffs in the mid-2010s put the issue in the national spotlight, but the struggle didn’t stay in Detroit. Residents in small cities and rural towns have faced rising rates, aging systems, and growing household debt, too.

This year, lawmakers are taking another run at a statewide fix.

A new bipartisan set of bills would create a state fund for low-income water assistance, cap bills for many struggling households, and set firm rules around when water can be shut off. The plan nearly passed last session in the Michigan legislature, but collapsed in the final days. Now it’s back with updated language, a broader coalition, and a place on the Michigan Senate floor.

Democratic State Senator Stephanie Chang has spent years drafting and refining statewide affordability legislation and Sylvia Orduño, a longtime organizer with the People’s Water Board Coalition, has worked on water access and human rights advocacy for more than 25 years.

They joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss why this moment matters, and what Michigan could gain or lose in the months ahead.

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Michigan is racing toward the data center boom that powers artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Lawmakers have approved generous tax breaks, and utilities are courting multi-billion-dollar projects, including a proposed $7 billion “hyperscale” campus in rural Saline Township, backed by tech giants OpenAI and Oracle. 

Supporters promise investment and new tax revenue. But critics warn that these vast, windowless buildings could come with higher electric bills, heavy demands on local water supplies, and pressure to keep fossil fuel plants running long past Michigan’s clean energy deadlines. 

So who really pays for Michigan’s data-center gold rush, and who gets to decide?

Brian Allnutt, a senior reporter and contributing editor at Planet Detroit, has been following Michigan’s data center deals from the state capitol to township board meetings and courtroom settlements. He joined Robyn Vincent to help make sense of the choices Michigan faces.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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