Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow is in Flint, Michigan today. She is speaking to more than 100 students this morning and then to over 300 people at a public event at the University of Michigan this evening. She will be highlighting our Great Lakes campaign in these speeches.
Currently there is very much a public debate in Flint on the issue of a proposed Karegnondi Water Authority water pipeline. This $600 million project would draw an unspecified amount of water from Lake Huron to allow the Karegnondi Water Authority (a municipal corporation responsible for water services to the cities of Flint and Lapeer, and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer and Sanilac) to reportedly save money by no longer purchasing its water through the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
This relates to a plan dating back to June 2009 for Genesee County to pump 322 million litres of water a day from Lake Huron to serve the water supply needs of Genesee County, Flint and portions of Lapeer, Sanilac, Saginaw and Shiawassee counties. We blogged on this at that time at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=988 and http://canadians.org/blog/?p=1476, and will continue to follow developments in this story.
Barlow’s visit to Flint today, as well as her November 30, 2011 visit to Buffalo, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=12367, and her January 25 visit to Sault Ste. Marie, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=13244, may all be considered as additional ‘unofficial’ stops in our recently announced eight-city Great Lakes speaking tour, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=13917.
More soon.
