The Great Lakes still gleam and sparkle — but their waters are heavy with the weight of what we’ve done. Algal blooms cloud once-clear bays. Shorelines erode under rising waves. 

The lakes are the eternal vessels of what we’ve left behind: aging pipes, invasive species, and poisoned fish. And it’s all amid a warming climate.

Feeding this system is the Detroit River — one of its vital arteries. It’s moved ore and industry, waste and wildlife. A crossing. A corridor. A dumping ground.

Now, a billion-dollar cleanup is on the table. But this isn’t just about sediment and sludge. It’s about legacy and injustice — and whether we can learn to care for what we once used thoughtlessly.

Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, has spent years asking that question. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss some of the most urgent or overlooked threats to water health across the state.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

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A new study highlights the importance of removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water.

What are PFAS?

PFAS are chemicals that take a long time to break down in the environment. They can also build up in the human body and cause a variety of health problems.

Researchers took blood samples from people living near a contaminated site in southwest Michigan. They compared PFAS levels in those who drank city water to people who have private wells.

Courtney Carignan is an environmental researcher at Michigan State University. She says PFAS turned up in people’s blood three years after officials cleaned up the water.

“We still saw higher levels of PFAS in the blood of our participants who drank higher levels of contaminated water compared to those who had much lower levels in their water,” she said.

Scientists have been evaluating the impacts of PFAS for years. Carignan says this study is the first of its kind.

“No other studies really have looked at exposure from other sources like paper mills,” she said. “There are a lot of other types of industries that have used PFAS in the past, or may still currently be using PFAS, and there just really aren’t a lot of studies looking at those kinds of communities and releases.”

EPA proposes looser restrictions

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to rescind Biden-era limits on four kinds of PFAS and delay enforcement of limits on two other kinds.

Carignan says that’s not the right approach.

“These interventions to reduce PFAS in drinking water are really important,” she said. “The higher the level is in the drinking water for these PFAS, the more kinds of health effects you would see in the population.”

State lawmakers propose testing

Michigan has its own PFAS standards and is taking steps to protect people.

State Sen. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) and Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) proposed bills to test children for PFAS. They are SB 298 and HB 4499.

Carignan says people can learn more at the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team website or PFAS Exchange.