WELLS — Wells Township residents have an opportunity to weigh in on a proposed expansion of Escanaba’s city sewer system into the township through an online survey — but they must act fast. The survey is only available until Sunday.

The city and the township met in October to discuss the proposal, which came from an unlikely source. McCoy Construction & Forestry intends to expand its presence in Delta County by constructing a new facility just north of Muffler Man on U.S. 41. However, the site in Wells Township has limited access to city utilities and no access to sewer service.

“As part of their development it really made sense that if city sewer is available, that that would be a preferred route instead of a drain field,” Escanaba City Manager Jim McNeil explained during the October meeting.

McCoy approached the city and the township with a proposal that included the heavy equipment company financially contributing to an expansion of the city’s sewer system to the new site, and the city produced two potential plans for how to expand the system. Following the meeting, the proposals were whittled down to a single option that would expand the sewer from the railroad tracks, under the highway and to the corner by Ember’s Credit Union; then travel north along the highway to the new McCoy location. This would result in about 1,850 feet of sewer with 960 feet available to businesses in Wells Township on the east side of the highway.

The plan would cost roughly $770,000, with the the city paying about $288,000, and McCoy and the township each contributing an additional $240,000.

The township would pay for its portion using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. These funds, part of a $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, must be allocated to a township project by the end of this year and spent by 2026.

While the initial proposal only allows for a small number of businesses to have access to city sewer, the plan does allow the township to expand sewer access into the “village” portion of the township sometime in the future. The township has stated the project would require grant funding in the vicinity of $3 million to $4 million and would give wastewater access to the 184 houses that already have city water.

It is unknown how much it would cost to expand the sewer system to the remainder of the homes in the village area. There is no plan proposed, either with ARPA or grant funding, that would bring sewer access to the larger Wells Township area outside of the village.

The survey — which can be found on the Wells Lions Club website, www.wellslionsclub.com — includes a number of points both in favor of the proposal and against it.

Chief among the arguments presented in October were the additional costs residents could incur as a result of the project, looming state mandates for septics inspections, and regulations that could make it more expensive for residents to replace existing septic systems.

Escanaba currently offers water service to the select area of the township at a rate of 1.5 times the city water rate, which itself has skyrocketed over the last few years due to lead service line replacements mandated by the state. Those line replacements have had no direct impact on Wells Township residents beyond increasing costs, as the entire area currently served by city water in the township was installed after lead service lines were no longer the standard.

Regardless, city water and wastewater fees are intrinsically linked, with city residents’ wastewater charges based on their metered water usage. While this is a straightforward calculation for city residents — roughly the same among of water goes into homes and businesses as goes out — it does mean that any rate increases to offset repairs and upgrades to the city’s aging infrastructure will be magnified for township residents.

Even if the rates don’t change, a resident who relies on a septic system and currently pays nothing on a monthly basis for sewer could suddenly find themselves with a $100 or more monthly bill.

On the other hand, sewer access could spare residents costs related to proposed septic regulations. Bills proposed in both state House and Senate last April would mandate inspections every five years and require homeowners to repair faulty systems within six months. The consequences for residents who did not meet the repair timeline haven’t been announced, but would be developed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) after the legislation went into effect.

It could be some time before septic inspections and short timelines for expensive repairs becomes law. Both the House and Senate bills proposing the changes were sent to committee on April 27, 2023 and haven’t moved since, but even if the bills die, it is expected that some other legislation aimed at reducing the environmental effects of leaky septics would follow.

“In my mind, I think all else equal, everybody replacing their septic and installation of city sewer would probably be similar cost, but one you can get grant funding for, where the other is usually just bared by the home owner,” said McNeil in October.

Neither the township nor Escanaba are required to expand the sewer to McCoy nor further into the township. However, McCoy has delayed the construction phase of its project to allow the two municipalities to discuss whether the expansion should move forward with the company’s involvement. An answer would be needed relatively soon for the development to take place this year as planned.

In addition to yes or no questions gauging public support for the expansion, the survey includes a place for Wells Township residents to add written comments on the plan for consideration by the township board. A map of the project area is also included.