Reps. Warren, Ball, Lisa Brown, Terry Brown, Constan, Donigan, Robert Jones, LeBlanc, Liss, Lori, Mayes, Miller, Neumann, Polidori, Roberts, Rogers, Slavens, Smith, Spade and Valentine offered the following resolution:

House Resolution No. 287.

A resolution to declare May 2010 as Drinking Water Month in the state of Michigan.

            Whereas, Water is a basic and essential need for the health, comfort and well-being of all things that depend on it to live; and

            Whereas, The Michigan Section of the American Water Works Association and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's (DWSD) have observed Drinking Water Month during May each year since 1985 to promote tap water as high quality drinking water and to expand upon the annual national observance of Drinking Water Week; and,

            Whereas, Municipal tap water supplies safe, reliable drinking water; attracts industry and investment; creates jobs; and provides for the health and welfare of citizens with very little cost to our residents; and

            Whereas, Americans drink more than 1 billion glasses of tap water per day and families turn on the faucet an average of 70 times in one day; and

            Whereas, In an average year, the DWSD treats and pumps 228,490,000,000 gallons of water to 4 million customers.  All of the water treated by the DWSD is surface water from lakes and rivers; and

Whereas, Municipal water systems must test for harmful microbiological content in water several times a day and the drinking water produced by DWSD meets or exceeds all regulatory standards; and

            Whereas, As the Great Lakes State, we are blessed to be surrounded by nearly 40,000 square miles of lake water, to have 11,000 inland lakes, and to have 36,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams; and

            Whereas, As stewards of the environment, citizens of the state of Michigan hold the responsibility of preserving and protecting our most precious resource, the Great Lakes; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare May 2010 as Drinking Water Month in the state of Michigan; and be it further

            Resolved, That we encourage citizens to become personally involved in the wise and efficient use of water, to recognize the importance of protecting the quality of our water resources, to learn about local water issues, and to pay tribute to the dedicated efforts of the members of these two organizations.