Improvements to a drinking water monitoring network connecting Michigan communities from Lake Huron to Lake Erie will give plant operators about 15 times faster access to water quality readings, helping guard against issues like chemical spills and algae blooms, officials say.

According to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which helps coordinate the network, the system connects 13 drinking water plants that collectively provide water to about half the state's population, along a corridor beset by freight traffic and industry on both sides of the international border.

While a collaborative monitoring program has existed for about two decades, these latest improvements include upgraded equipment that allows plant operators to more quickly to stop water intake if there's a sudd

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