Benton Harbor Declares Emergency in Michigan Over High Levels of Lead as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Visits

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks to reporters in Midland, Mich., on May 20, 2020. Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Benton Harbor in Berrien County on Oct. 19 and met with residents and local leaders who have been urged to use bottled water due to high levels of lead in their tap water.

Benton Harbor, a predominantly black, mostly low-income community of 9,700, is in southwestern Michigan, 100 miles from Chicago.