On April 17, 2023, the City of Grand Rapids will hold a public meeting, at the City of Grand Rapids Water Administration Building, to receive comments on proposed water system improvements.
The City of Grand Rapids is preparing an application to fund improvements to the City’s water system. This work is proposed for funding through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The City of Grand Rapids will hold a public meeting for the proposed water system improvements for the purpose of receiving comments from interested persons. The meeting will be held on April 17, 2023, at the City of Grand Rapids Water Administration Building, 1900 Oak Industrial Drive Northeast, Grand Rapids, MI 49505, in Conference Room 224 at 4 p.m.
From April 6 to April 17, 2023, a copy of the draft Project Planning Document will be available for public review on the City’s website at:
• City of Grand Rapids:
https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/Government/Departments/Water-System/PublicHearing-DWRF?transfer=038a28c3-bec5-4621-9338-fe34e75768a6
The Project Plan includes 32 total water system projects. The projects consist of work at the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant (LMFP) grouped into three projects, distribution system projects in Grand Rapids consisting of 22 water main replacement projects and lead service replacements every year (five projects), new water mains in Cascade Township, and a regionalization project to include Caledonia Township. The proposed projects will ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and make improvements to residuals handing, reliability, and water quality.
There are no negative long-term impacts associated with the proposed projects. Construction activities would have only a short-term impact.
There are a total of eight loans proposed in the Project Plan, with five being “City only” loans and three being “overall service area” loans. The cost of each project is allocated to each community that benefits from the project. The 22 water main projects and the five lead service line replacement projects are fully within and for the City of Grand Rapids, so the cost is fully allocated to Grand Rapids users. The costs of the Cascade Township project and the Caledonia Township project are allocated to their respective communities. The projects at the LMFP are considered integrated costs because they benefit all users, so the cost is distributed proportionately among users through a commodity charge based on water demand.
A summary of estimated loan amounts by Fiscal Year for each type of loan is provided in Table 1.
Table 1– Summary of Estimated Loan Amounts​
| DWSRF Fiscal Year |
Overall Service Area Loan |
City Only Loan |
| FY24 |
$ 18,344,550 |
$ 14,773,400 |
| FY25 |
$ 30,000,000 |
$ 19,339,400 |
| FY26 |
NA |
$ 17,293,300 |
| FY27 |
$ 8,620,000 |
$ 15,964,200 |
| FY28 |
NA |
$ 17,355,400 |
The estimated monthly user cost for a family of four to fund all the proposed projects ranges from $1.96 to $16.96 depending on the community. User cost is discussed in further detail in Section 5.6 of the Project Planning Document.
Written comments received before the meeting on April 17, 2023, will receive responses in the final Project Planning Document. The written comments can be submitted to:
Wayne Jernberg, Water System Manager
1900 Oak Industrial Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
Or emailed to
wjernberg@grand-rapids.mi.us