Don't bother with the lettuce, water hyacinth, and parrots feather. They don't overwinter well and will probably just foul the water wherever you put them. I just threw mine way this evening, in fact. It was looking pretty ratty. Bring the comets inside. Fifteen inches of water in Michigan isn't enough to get them through.

Not sure what to tell you about the lily. Normally, they're just sunk to the bottom of the pond for the winter, but if your pond freezes solid, I don't think it'll make it. Can you find a bucket that you can sink the pot into (with water, of course) and store it in a cool place where it will go dormant? If you do this, trim off the stems and pads. I've heard of some people who say that they dig theirs out of the pot, rinse it off thoroughly, trim off all the pads and stems, put it in a sealed plastic bag, and place it in the refrigerator. It can them be repotted come spring. I've never tried that; I live in Oklahoma, a much warmer climate.

Try googling something like "overwintering hardy water lilies" and see what comes up.

Hi tymyers,
You could take a chance of leaving your lily in your pond and using a deicer, but I just wouldn't trust that....especially with power failures.
I've had great luck with burying my stuff in the ground. You can dig a hole in the ground and put your waterlily container in there. Cover it back up with light soil/leaves/humus. Cover it with a foot or 2 of leaves. If you can dig the hole next to your house, it will keep even warmer. I've done this with lily and lotus for several years and they've always survived. I would make sure the top of the lily container is at least 6" below the ground surface level.
When you bring your fish back out,be sure to acclimate them to the outside water temp first. Good luck to you.
P.S. You may want to use a small deicer in your little pond, even if there's nothing left in there, to keep the liner from freezing solid.

I hope that I am not double posting here(I am sorry if I am), I too am a newbie and in zone 5 MI. Why do the Lillys have to go dormant? why can't I just cut them back and put them in a fish tank with the fish?

OK...I have decided to winter the Lily in a bucket of water on my screened porch. It does not go below freezing for long enough to freeze it solid. I am going to put a black trash bag over the bucket(still letting air in) to block out the sun on the porch. I will check it daily as it gets colder and see what happens.
I am going to set up my 29gal this week so I can get it "cycled" and ready for fish when it gets cold.
Thanks for all your advice.

Chances are the lily will rot if you put it in the aquarium. The environment isn't quite enough for them to grow well.
It might be o.k. in the bucket but I think it would be o.k. in your pond as long as it doesn't freeze solid. Keep the water moving or use a deicer and it will be fine.
As far as the other plants, if the parrots feather is potted it will survive at the bottom of the pond as well as long as it doesn't freeze solid.
Water Lettuce will not overwinter.
Water Hyacinth is very difficult to overwinter. You can try but it will have to have a very bright and warm southern window. I managed to overwinter some successfully last winter. I had them in a small plastic container with water and they sat on a shelf in a south window and they did fine.