A version of this column originally appeared in Michigan Advance
Residents of Benton Harbor have forced the country to pay attention to their ongoing fight for clean water.
For three years, the majority-Black city of Benton Harbor’s water lead levels have exceeded the legal limit, endangering residents. But a recently filed petition from residents and advocates has ratcheted up attention—and action—from policymakers to adequately address this crisis.
The 2022 state budget passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in September includes $10 million to replace lead service lines and improve drinking water safety in Benton Harbor. Now, Gov. Whitmer has issued an Executive Directive calling on the Michigan Legislature to use $11.4 million to replace the city’s pipes within 18 months as well as an additional six-part order to strengthen water regulations and lead mitigation efforts statewide. Additionally, the infrastructure bill just passed by Congress is set to deliver $1.3 billion to Michigan for water infrastructure upgrades, with Benton Harbor being mentioned specifically as a reason for Representative Fred Upton’s support of the bill.
Before these actions, the petition estimated that residents in Benton Harbor could face over six more years of living with elevated lead in their water. Like in Flint, grassroots leaders responded urgently, providing relief to residents when action stalled and demanding accountability. The Benton Harbor Community Water Council has distributed thousands of cases of water, hosted filter distribution events and educated the public about the crisis in the past three years. They met with advocates and contacted the federal Environmental Protection Agency earlier in 2021 to demand action for the children of their community, prompting the current response.
No amount of lead exposure is safe, especially for children. In addition to lead in the water, lead paint in older housing stock and even lead in the ground from paint and gasoline remnants also pose danger. The damaging effects of lead exposure are well documented, and lead contamination in water plays a significant role in overall lead poisonings. Lead poisoning causes harm to brain development and can result in a range of mental and physical health conditions. For these reasons, addressing lead has been and remains a priority for advocates of children and families, including the Michigan League for Public Policy and our Kids Count in Michigan Project.
The impacts of lead are worsened in communities that have been racially and economically segregated like Benton Harbor. Policy decisions in housing and education deliberately segregated children by race and created worse conditions for Black residents, which, along with White flight, have created unequal conditions between Benton Harbor and its neighboring city, St. Joseph. The metro area is still ranked as one of the most segregated in the country.
A map produced by Kids Count in Michigan using data from 2015-2019 shows the ongoing impacts of this legacy: most children in Benton Harbor live in high-poverty census tracts, some with overall poverty rates as high as 62%. In the neighboring and majority-White St. Joseph, children live in communities where the percent of the population below poverty is less than 10%. Since high-poverty neighborhoods are often cut off from resources like healthy food, high-quality healthcare and education, the living conditions in these areas have been found to negatively affect the development of children, separate from lead exposure. These conditions make the impact of lead poisoning in a city like Benton Harbor even more severe.
The momentum to fix our water quality problem has been building, thanks to record investments like the MI Clean Water Plan, that strengthen our water systems while growing good jobs. These efforts, as well as the recent directives and infrastructure package, are important steps. We can build off of this momentum to create safe and healthy communities for all children. Congress must use this moment to go further for children, such as continuing the popular, expanded child tax credit monthly payments, funding universal preschool, reducing child care costs for families, protecting our environment, and making an historic investment in affordable housing. . Increasing the supply of affordable housing is especially important to prevent lead poisoning from old housing stock, another source of exposure.
Policymakers have a responsibility to act now to protect children, by passing state funds needed to fix the pipes in Benton Harbor and taking action on the Build Back Better plan that will aid communities in fighting poverty and removing sources of lead exposure across Michigan. And as state officials begin to negotiate billions of dollars in American Rescue Plan funding, measures to prevent lead poisoning, including lead pipe replacement and improving water infrastructure, should be a top priority.
All Michigan residents, but especially our kids, deserve safe water and homes, regardless of the color of their skin, their family’s income or their zip code. Our leaders must act quickly to curb the crisis in Benton Harbor, address growing concerns about lead exposure in Hamtramck and other parts of the state, and work to permanently prevent lead contamination from happening anywhere else.
Jay Cutler joined the League in March 2026 as the Kids Count Senior Data Analyst, where he collects, analyzes, and prepares data for Kids Count in Michigan.
Danielle Taylor-Basemore joined the League as the Development Data and Stewardship Coordinator in June 2025. She brings with her five years of nonprofit experience with a special focus on community engagement, data visualization and strategic programming. Prior to joining the League, Danielle served as the Business District, Safety, and Digital Manager at Jefferson East, Inc.
Scott Preston is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Michigan League for Public Policy, where he leads the organization’s immigration and criminal justice reform portfolios. In the three years prior to joining the League, Scott facilitated the Southeast Michigan Refugee Collaborative and managed a small business economic development program at Global Detroit. His work included launching Michigan’s first Refugee Film Festival and building on a trusted connector model that linked marginalized communities with crucial resources. Scott’s work at the League is informed by his background in journalism and research. He spent four years covering the Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East for publications such as The Economist, and later worked with unaccompanied refugee minors through Samaritas. Scott holds a master’s degree in international migration and public policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Kate Powers joined the League as the Chief Development Officer in February 2025. Prior to joining the League, Kate held leadership positions at many Michigan nonprofit organizations, most recently serving as the COO and Chief Development Officer of Ele’s Place. Kate has spent the bulk of her career in fundraising, with a short stint in the state Legislature as a legislative aide to members in both chambers. Kate is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Relations and has a certificate in fundraising management from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Additionally, Kate served on the East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education and is a past President of the Junior League of Lansing. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and her son and saving outfit of the day and home decor ideas on Pinterest. 
Nicholas Hess joined the League as the Fiscal Policy Analyst in September of 2024. In this role, Nicholas focuses on tax policy, government revenue, and their impact on working families and racial equity, including the effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Nicholas values the role that judicious fiscal policy can play in the improvement of people’s lives and the economy, alleviating inequities along the way.
Audrey Matusz joined the League as the Visual Communications Specialist in September 2024. She supports the team with implementing social media strategies and brainstorming creative ways to talk about public policy. She brings with her nearly a decade of experience in producing digital products for evidence-based social justice initiatives. 
Jacob Kaplan 
Donald Stuckey 
Alexandra Stamm 
Amari Fuller
Mikell Frey is a communications professional with a passion for using the art of storytelling to positively impact lives. She strongly believes that positive social change can be inspired by the sharing of data-driven information coupled with the unique perspectives of people from all walks of life across Michigan, especially those who have faced extraordinary barriers. 
Yona Isaacs (she/hers) is an Early Childhood Data Analyst for the Kids Count project. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan, she began her career as a research coordinator in pediatric psychiatry using data to understand the impacts of brain activity and genetics on children’s behavior and mental health symptoms. This work prompted an interest in exploring social determinants of health and the role of policy in promoting equitable opportunities for all children, families, and communities. She returned to the University of Michigan to complete her Masters in Social Work focused on Social Policy and Evaluation, during which she interned with the ACLU of Michigan’s policy and legislative team and assisted local nonprofit organizations in creating data and evaluation metrics. She currently serves as a coordinator for the Michigan Center for Youth Justice on a project aiming to increase placement options and enhance cultural competency within the juvenile justice system for LGBTQIA+ youth. Yona is eager to put her data skills to work at the League in support of data-driven policies that advocate for equitable access to healthcare, education, economic security, and opportunity for 0-5 year old children. In her free time, she enjoys tackling DIY house projects and trying new outdoor activities with her dog.
Rachel Richards rejoined the League in December 2020 as the Fiscal Policy Director working on state budget and tax policies. Prior to returning to the League, she served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Michigan Department of Treasury, the tax policy analyst and Legislative Director for the Michigan League for Public Policy, and a policy analyst and the Appropriations Coordinator for the Democratic Caucus of the Michigan House of Representatives. She brings with her over a decade of experience in policies focused on economic opportunity, including workforce issues, tax, and state budget.
Simon Marshall-Shah joined the Michigan League for Public Policy as a State Policy Fellow in August 2019. His work focuses on state policy as it relates to the budget, immigration, health care and other League policy priorities. Before joining the League, he worked in Washington, D.C. at the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), providing federal policy and advocacy support to nonprofit, Medicaid health plans (Safety Net Health Plans) related to the ACA Marketplaces as well as Quality & Operations.
Renell Weathers, Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) Community Engagement Consultant. As community engagement consultant, Renell works with organizations throughout the state in connecting the impact of budget and tax policies to their communities. She is motivated by the belief that all children and adults deserve the opportunity to achieve their dreams regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or economic class.
Emily Jorgensen joined the Michigan League for Public Policy in July 2019. She deeply cares about the well-being of individuals and families and has a great love for Michigan. She is grateful that her position at the League enables her to combine these passions and work to help promote policies that will lead to better opportunities and security for all Michiganders.
Megan Farnsworth joined the League’s staff in December 2022 as Executive Assistant. Megan is driven by work that is personally fulfilling, and feels honored to help support the work of an organization that pushes for more robust programming and opportunities for the residents of our state. She’s excited and motivated to gain overarching knowledge of the policies and agendas that the League supports.
