Genesee County Applies for Lake Huron Water Permit

Despite recent talks between DWSD and Genesee County about sharing the cost of a future water system improvements, it does not appear that Genesee County has abandoned its interest in a separate water system, as discussed in an earlier posting.

Earlier this week, the Genesee County Drain Commission applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to withdraw as much as 85 million gallons of water per day from Lake Huron.

"This (85 million gallon) volume would be adequate to meet the anticipated needs of Lapeer, Genesee and Sanilac counties and the city of Flint for the next several decades," said Jeff Wright, Genesee County's drain commissioner.

DWSD officials are downplaying this development, but it does call into question whether or not DWSD can or will proceed with a major expansion of its transmission capacity into Genesee County. The Flint Loop project, announced last year, would add miles to DWSD’s water transmission capacity northwards into Genesee County. However, decreased water demand has also led to lower water and sewer revenues.

[Update: There will be a 45 day public comment period, through July 15, 2009, on Genesee County's application. There is more information at the MDEQ's website. ]

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Upper Rouge CSO Tunnel Project Stalls

TunnelTalk reports here in an April, 2009 article that funding woes have stalled the Upper Rouge CSO Tunnel project.

Settlement Agreement with Suburbs Ratified

On May 12, 2009, at a Status Conference with Judge Feikens, representatives of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties, and the City of Detroit submitted executed copies of the Settlement Agreement, which was tentatively reached in December, 2008.

Judge Feikens, who is 91 years old, thanked the attorneys who have been involved in the decades-old litigation, and declared that resolution of the long-running dispute between the City and Suburbs signaled a new chapter in regional cooperation relative to water and wastewater matters.

This matter was also reported here by the Detroit Free Press.