Mayor Duggan Chief of Staff Alexis Wiley offers views on the future of Detroit Water System

By Karen Hudson Samuels/Tell Us Detroit

DETROIT, MI (Tell Us Det) - Will Detroit’s water system, one the largest in the nation, come under the management of a regional water authority?

The question is up for a vote by the Detroit City Council, whether to approve the Great Lakes Regional Water Authority agreement reached by Mayor Mike Duggan with county executives from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and Governor Rick Snyder.

The agreement is historic after decades of regional division between the city and suburbs over the cost and control of Detroit’s water services.

Tell Us Detroit sat down with Mayor Duggan's Chief of Staff, Alexis Wiley to discuss details of the 40-year agreement and what it means for Detroit and its water customers.

A key provision of the agreement is that Detroit retains ownership of the entire water system and control of it local water mains and sewer systems.

Wiley explained that the Great Lakes Regional Authority (GLWA) will operate the regional water system’s assets, meaning the infrastructure of water mains and sewer pipe. The City of Detroit will lease these assets to the GLWA for $50 million a year over the next 40 years.

Each day, Detroit’s water system delivers fresh, clean water to almost one million people in Detroit and three million people in counties throughout southeastern Michigan. But Detroit’s infrastructure is aging and in need of capital improvements, Wiley said fixing the water main breaks that have plagued neighborhoods around the city is just one example of how the $50 million dollar lease payments will be used.

Will water rates increase under a regional authority? “The cost to run the system will not increase by more than 4 percent in a single year” said Wiley which means the amount to actually run the system will be capped at 4 percent.

“Detroit has never had a cap and costs have gone up and down so this is really a way to stabilize the revenue rate requirements so we know how much are needed to actually run the system.”

Wiley explained how rate increases can occur “Water rates are based on various factors, if a community decides to upgrade their system with infrastructure projects locally to the pipes, fees could be passed on to those customers.” Fixes to Detroit’s water system and upgrades are covered by the $50 million annual lease fee and a cap of on operating costs.

The recent water cutoffs that left thousands of residents high and dry, was a crisis until the city stopped the shutoffs and gave residents a chance to make payment arrangements. Going forward under the regional agreement, Wiley said there is a water affordability fund of $4.5 million per year to help people who can’t pay their water bills.

So what happens to the Detroit Water and Sewer Department? It will continue to maintain Detroit’s water pipes and plants; operation of infrastructure outside city limits will be the responsibility of the GLWA.

This week the Detroit City Council decides if a regional authority and all its provisions is good plan. A no vote by would mean Emergency Manager Kevin Orr could approve the GLWA; this is a scenario Wiley says the city wants to afford. Mayor Duggan is appearing before the Detroit City Council Wednesday to seek support for approval of the Great Lakes Regional Water Plan.