State Rep. Kurt Heise will participate in a March 26 panel discussion in Detroit. The event is hosted by the International Joint Commission on how best to protect southeast Michigan's water supply.

Heise, the former Director for the Wayne County Department of Environment, has been on the forefront of water quality issues for more than 18 years, and is an environmental policy adjunct professor at Wayne State University. During the forum, Heise will focus on real time monitoring and water operations response to spills in the St. Clair-Detroit system. Heise has introduced House Bill 4133 that would allow municipal water providers to create “Water Quality Alliances” to provide real-time and sustainable monitoring services. This bill was created in response to water quality concerns in the St.Clair-Detroit system.

"Protecting public health is a basic responsibility of government, and making sure our drinking water is safe is of the utmost importance," said Heise, R-Plymouth. "I look forward to participating in this important forum. Local, state and federal officials in both the United States and Canada need to work together to help manage and protect the Great Lakes water supply."

The forum brings together Great Lakes utility, business, academic, non-government organizations and government stakeholders interested in protecting water quality in the Great Lakes watershed. Heise is the only state lawmaker invited to participate in the panel discussions.

The event, called the Water and Wastewater Treatment Best Management Practices Forum, also includes officials from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; the Ontario, Canada Ministry of Environment; and university officials from the United States and Canada.

For more on Rep. Kurt Heise, visit www.gophouse.com/welcome.asp?District=020

— From the offifce of Rep. Kurt Heise