Water Increases a Result of Economic Crisis, Federal Regulations

Summary

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DWSD is the third largest municipally owned and operated water and sewerage system in the nation. Its rates continue to rank among the lowest of the 20 major municipal systems in the United States. Nevertheless, in these difficult financial times, we recognize and understand that any water rate increase is a burden for our customers. I want Detroiters to know that the increase in water rates being proposed is driven by three factors that are beyond the DWSD's ability to control: (1) a steep decrease in the number of water customers and sales due to the economic crisis (a $50 million shortfall in projected revenue); (2) a $35 million increase in interest charges caused by the crisis of Wall Street bondholders; and (3) federal and state environmental mandates that require Detroit residents under a 1999 legal settlement to pay the majority of costs for the construction of combined sewer overflow systems handling sewage and. stormwater ($1.3 billion).

In Detroit, all services related to ensuring the cleanliness of our drinking water, accurate billing and usage tracking, installing and servicing meters, replacing and repairing city infrastructure, and treating wastewater and stormwater runoff in order to protect the ecosystem of the Detroit River are provided by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD).

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Extract

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Water Increases a Result of Economic Crisis, Federal Regulations

The proposed increases in water and sewer rates recently announced for the city of Detroit will result in an average $6.87 per month increase to water and sewer bills...

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