ESCANABA — Escanaba Water and Wastewater Superintendent Jeff Lampi, City Manager Patrick Jordan, and the city council took time to answer any questions residents might have about proposed rate increases during a special work session prior to the regular council meeting Thursday night.

“The reason the council’s here right now is to hear comments from people who live here and pay these bills and take it all in, and when we make those final decisions it will be with the benefit of all this input,” said Mayor Marc Tall, noting there would be future public hearings on the budget and a final determination by the council would be made in June.

Many residents were angered or confused by the proposed 45 percent increase to water rates that could take effect as soon as July 1 and three 20-percent increases to wastewater costs over the next three years. However, the city claims these increases are needed to make necessary water plant improvements and meet new environmental regulations aimed at combatting lead in drinking water.

“I can’t speak for how people are going to pay their bills, but I have given great thought to how the citizens are going to cover this because I understand there are a lot of people that don’t have high paying jobs, but I am tasked with maintaining a system and you can’t maintain a system without money,” said Lampi.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) — formerly the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality — has set new rules regarding the replacement of lead service lines. Under the regulations, which take effect in July, cities must begin replacing lead service lines at a rate of 5 percent of the lines within a municipality starting in 2021. In Escanaba, this means 200 lines a year.

Lead has historically been used to create goosenecks between water mains and residential service lines due to its flexibility. In the past, only the goosenecks were removed and replaced. Partial service line replacements removing only the lead portion of the line will no longer be acceptable under the new rules, and service lines must be replaced all the way to the meter.

Replacing to the meter is a stark contrast to the way the city has managed any sort of utility replacement. Up until this point, only the portion in the boulevard between the street and the sidewalk was the responsibility with anything beyond the sidewalk being the responsibility of the homeowner. Not only will the city now be responsible for doing the replacement from the main to the meter located inside the residence, the city will also be left footing the bill.

Based on a few similar projects the city has completed using grant funding, the city anticipates each line will cost an average of $5,000 to replace. Some lines have cost as much as $10,000 in the past, and it is possible some residents will object to city crews entering their home and no replacement will be done.

“I would hope there wouldn’t be any resistance on that, but it’s a private property issue and this is America last time I checked,” said Jordan.

While there is no advantage to a homeowner not allowing the city into their home, there is little danger in the water supply as it is now. Jordan noted the city’s water currently averages around 5 parts per billion — well below the current 15 parts per billion limit set by the state and below the 12 parts per billion level taking effect with the new rules.

The new rules are currently facing legal challenges, but it is still possible the city could be facing around $50,000 per city block. As a cost saving measure, the city has decided the replacements should be done by city staff rather than contracted out to private contractors. It is anticipated this will mean three more people will be added to the water department.

Even if the rules are changed, Lampi said deferred maintenance and and aging system mean the city still needs greater funding for the water and wastewater systems.

The city is currently seeking money through the State Revolving Loan Fund for upgrades at the wastewater plant. Money raised by the higher wastewater rates will be used to pay back these loans and pay for the $12 million to $13 million of upgrades including upgrades to the building itself, equipment replacements, adding an additional raw sewage pump and aeration basin, and installing an effluent pump station. The effluent pump station will increase the high flow capacity and help to reduce the number of times sewage is bypassed into the lake.

Throughout the meeting, questions were raised about both the improvement projects and the new line replacement rules, but most residents were concerned over the high cost of the projects. Lampi noted, as an enterprise fund, the water and wastewater departments are not eligible for tax funding, and if the city were to bond for the projects interest costs would force the city to spend even more money on the projects.

“Even though these rates are going through, I hope these mandates are relieved and our needs are lessened. There’s nothing that say we can’t have a rate reduction if we over-plan. I do not think we did. I think we’re where we need to be, but that does not mean we can’t do a rate reduction, and that would be great headlines, right?” he said.

Jordan was quick to point out the numbers presented were based on professional calculations and were unlikely to change.

“This is a very scientific number that we’ve arrived at. It isn’t something that we threw a dart at a dart board. It’s where it has to be,” he said.

One member of the public raised concerns the number of delinquent utility payers might increase under the higher water and wastewater rates. Jordan stated he did not know how many residents were currently delinquent on their utilities nor had he done any calculations on how the number might increase under the proposed rates.

“When someone is absolutely in need, and it’s documented, there’s help out there I think for people, I don’t know what the safety net is, but we have a system to run. We can’t socialize our system and give water away for free. It’s got to be paid for,” said Jordan.

Lampi expressed his own concerns over those that would struggled under the proposal.

“No one has stressed over this rate increase more than me — and I know you’re thinking, ‘well, you’re going to be able to pay your bills,’ and I do feel for those that are going to struggle. I don’t know what to say for those people. I feel really bad, and I think everyone on this panel feels bad, but we still have infrastructure to maintain,” he said.

At the end of the meeting, Lampi encouraged those in attendance to reach out to their state elected officials to remove the line replacement mandates. He also welcomed questions from the community by phone or email, adding he preferred questions were emailed in case he needed to reach out to someone else for an answer. Lampi can be reached at 906-786-3291 or at jlampi@escanaba.org.