Michigan Water Protection

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Updated: 4:30 AM Nov 23, 2009

Michigan DEQ details goals for water protection including ensuring safe drinking water.

Posted: 4:20 AM Nov 23, 2009
Reporter: AP
Email Address: Associated Press

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FILE - In a Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 file photo, men fish from the exposed shore at Lake Lanier in Buford, Ga. Lake Lanier is the main source of water for Atlanta. A Friday, July 17, 2009 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson found that nearly all of Georgia's withdrawals from Lake Lanier, a massive federal reservoir north of Atlanta, are illegal because the lake wasn't built for water supply. The ruling has left Peach State leaders racing against the clock to avoid a potentially dire water shortage in the South's largest urban area. (AP Photo/Greg Bluestein, File)

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The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has released details of five major goals for its water protection programs.

The "Measures of Success" document focuses on ensuring safe drinking water; protecting groundwater; enhancing recreational waters; ensuring safe consumable fish; and protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems.

The department has included ways to measure progress on its efforts.

For example, the DEQ says that by 2014 all beaches on the Great Lakes and inland lakes that are monitored should be safe for swimming. It also details benchmarks for fighting mercury, PCB and dioxin contamination.

The DEQ plans to review and modify the goals. Details may be found on the department's Web site.