Mount Clemens reviews draft $19M water capital plan, schedules detailed September workshop

Mount Clemens city officials accepted a draft capital improvement plan (CIP) for the water system on July 18 and scheduled a detailed workshop in September to review funding and sequencing.

At the meeting, Blair Sealover, utilities operations (speaker 15), told the commission the wastewater and water systems had been pushed to capacity at times and that the draft CIP outlines both five- and 20-year projects. ‘‘I think my rolled up number was about $19,000,000 on the water side,’’ Sealover said, describing aging pipes, valves and hydrants as primary drivers of the estimate and noting the figure spans roughly 20 years.

Sealover said a 2012 sanitary survey and a 2009 amendment to the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act introduced a new requirement for publicly owned water supplies to assemble capital improvement plans. Staff acknowledged the city missed an initial compliance deadline but characterized the miss as manageable with follow-up work and communications with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). "While we did miss a deadline, it's not a deal breaker," Sealover said.

Commissioners pressed staff on details and asset inventories. Commissioner Menser (speaker 9) asked whether an inventory by pipe size, material and age existed; Sealover confirmed that inventory is available and described an asset-management program intended to meet forthcoming permit language. The utilities director told commissioners that lead-service replacement and DEQ best-management practices will raise costs and administrative complexity, noting that when a service is disturbed it must now be replaced “all the way to the meter.”

The commission voted to receive the draft CIP for submittal to the DEQ, with the minutes and roll call indicating the motion carried unanimously. Staff committed to a fuller workshop in September to go through the plan’s project list, funding options and the DEQ expectations for asset management.

What happens next: staff will prepare materials and a more detailed breakdown of projects and funding options ahead of the September workshop; a final CIP will return to the commission for formal approval and the city will continue coordination with the DEQ on permit timelines and asset-management requirements.