Detroit to pay $1 billion for sewer fix

Residents will see bills soar; suburbs may be off hook

DETROIT, Aug. 18, 2000 (The Detroit News) -- City residents can expect to pay substantially higher sewer rates in the years ahead to help finance a $1-billion water pollution abatement program, under an agreement reached in federal court.

The out-of-court settlement of an Environmental Protection Agency lawsuit filed 23 years ago includes construction of a $500-million, 7 1/2-mile retention basin under the streets of Detroit.

The 20-year program, born in 1977 when the federal government sued Detroit to stop pollution of the Detroit River, hits full stride in the months ahead with a recent settlement between the city and suburban water customers over who pays for the projects.

During the next two decades, Detroit will pay $830 million of the cost. The communities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties that are customers of the city's Water and Sewerage Department will pay about $170 million.

But much of the suburbs' cost will be offset because the court ruled Detroit overcharged them for sewer and water services by more than $100 million in past years.

Pollution from storm water runoff has been a nagging problem for Metro Detroit communities in recent years. Heavy rains frequently force communities to dump untreated runoff into area rivers, causing polluted waterways and beach closings.

The program outlined in the agreement is expected to prevent such runoffs, and dramatically improve the quality of water in area rivers and lakes.

Mark Grazioli, an engineer with the Wade Trim consulting firm, said the effort should have dramatic results during the next four years or so.

"By the year 2005, there will be no untreated combined sewer overflows above Michigan Avenue," Grazioli said.

Suburbs get credits

In the first 10 years of the project, suburbs in the three counties will receive credits totaling $132 million because of huge overcharges by Detroit.

Detroit Water and Sewerage, which provides services to most Metro Detroit suburbs, charged those communities for treating wastewater that came from Detroit, said James Murray, director of Wayne County's Department of Environment.

Officials in the suburban counties said Thursday they don't know how much they'll have to pay in the end. Even though the suburbs will get credits for the overcharges, the agreement also calls for the counties to pay $89 million in interest on the loans paying for the construction.

The EPA sued Detroit in 1977 because the city's wastewater treatment plant was not meeting federal clean water standards. It resulted in U.S. District Judge John Feikens appointing Mayor Coleman Young manager of the wastewater treatment plant that same year.

While improvements have been made at the plant since then, the lawsuit and water purity problems continued. Studies were conducted to determine the best way to permanently fix the problems and who would pay for it.

Under Feikens' guidance, court-appointed researchers determined the suburbs were overcharged. The city of Detroit agreed after officials were presented with the evidence, Murray said.

City to pay huge rates

The suburbs could have paid more than $500 million if they hadn't challenged Detroit on how much of the pollution from combined sewer overflows was coming from the city.

"The suburbs would have ended up paying 50 to 60 percent, instead of 17 percent, but we showed that Detroit was responsible for the (overflows)," Murray said.

Murray said he was unsure how long suburban customers had been overcharged by Detroit for treatment of storm water that really originated in Detroit.

Detroit Water and Sewerage also charged the other counties for $10 million in sewer bills that were not paid by their residents, Murray said. In contrast, Murray said, suburban communities covered the bills their residents wouldn't pay.

"The suburbs won't have a net rate increase," Murray said.

But, for Detroit residents, it will be a different story.

"Over the next 10 years, Detroit will see some huge sewer rates," said Raphael Chirolla, a director in the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Neither Chirolla or other city officials could immediately say how large the increases will be or when they will appear on customers' bills.

Tunnel is costliest

The costliest part of the program is the 7 1/2-mile-long tunnel that will be built under the city of Detroit, said Gary Fujita, assistant director of wastewater operations for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

The city also will build a new wastewater treatment plant to augment three plants in existence.

Other key parts of the project:

Additions of special gates and dams to increase the capacity to hold wastewater.
An expansion of the main Jefferson Avenue treatment plant, now under way, and another expansion of the Conner Creek treatment plant.
Construction of two water treatment plants at Chene and Leib.

"Our final goal is to capture and clean 12 billion gallons of wastewater every year," Fujita said.

"As it stands, the system is now able to handle only one-tenth that volume. We're dealing with a flow stemming from 3 million people. It's going to take a multipronged approach to handle that."

At a glance

The issue: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit in 1977 to stop the city from dumping untreated sewage and wastewater in the Detroit River.
The lawsuit: U.S. District Court Judge John Feikens has presided over the case for more than two decades. After years of fact-finding and negotiations, a settlement agreement on the lawsuit was negotiated and ratified by the U.S. District Court in March.
The monetary settlement: Detroit will pay $830 million of the $1- billion settlement. Metro Detroit suburbs that are customers of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department will pay about $170 million.