“Four
years ago, we announced the
creation of the Great Lakes
Water Authority to operate the
regional system with a $50
million annual lease payment to
be used to address our aging
infrastructure,” said Mayor
Duggan. “Now, Detroiters will
see and experience the benefit
of the GLWA lease agreement."
(Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us
Detroit)
DWSD to
invest
$500
million
in next
5 years
to
upgrade
the
water
and
sewer
systems
• More
than 50
miles of
water
main and
sewer
collection
pipe
will be
replaced
or lined
this
year and
projects
to
manage
37
million
gallons
of
stormwater
will be
installed.
• As
part of
the
program,
the
Detroit
Water
and
Sewerage
Department
will
replace
existing
full
lead
service
lines
during
water
main
replacement
construction.
DETROIT
– Today
on
Fullerton
in
Detroit’s
Russell
Woods
neighborhood,
Mayor
Mike
Duggan
and the
Detroit
Water
and
Sewerage
Department
announced
a
comprehensive
neighborhood-by-neighborhood
approach
to begin
to
upgrade
the
city’s
water
and
sewer
systems
through
a
five-year,
$500
million
program.
Most of
Detroit’s
water
and
sewer
pipes
are more
than 80
years
old and
there
has not
been a
massive
infrastructure
upgrade
since
1930.
The
DWSD
Capital
Improvement
Program
(CIP)
addresses
the need
to
improve
water
and
sewer
systems’
reliability.
Previously
the
department
solely
used the
frequency
of water
main
breaks
and
water-in-basement
complaints
to drive
the
strategy.
This led
to
projects
being
done
across
the city
without
a
cohesive
plan for
a
neighborhood.
Now,
DWSD
assesses
the
condition
of the
water
and
sewer
infrastructure
and
develops
a plan
for
rehabilitating
those
systems,
which
takes
into
account
other
public
or
private
investments
to a
neighborhood.
Factors
such as
the
probability
of a
failure
(breaks,
sinkholes,
etc.),
as well
as the
consequence
of
failure
(i.e.
near a
school
or
hospital,
the risk
is
higher)
are also
included
to
prioritize
the CIP
strategy.
“Four
years
ago, we
announced
the
creation
of the
Great
Lakes
Water
Authority
to
operate
the
regional
system
with a
$50
million
annual
lease
payment
to be
used to
address
our
aging
infrastructure,”
said
Mayor
Duggan.
“Now,
Detroiters
will see
and
experience
the
benefit
of the
GLWA
lease
agreement
when in
front of
their
house,
behind
their
house or
around
the
corner,
they see
water
mains
being
replaced,
sewer
pipes
lined
and
green
stormwater
infrastructure
projects
constructed.
The team
at DWSD
is
taking a
planned,
data-based
approach
to
maximize
this
$500
million
program,
and we
will put
Detroiters
to work
on these
projects.”
The
DWSD
five-year,
$500
million
CIP is
possible
due to
the $50
million
annual
lease
payment
from the
Great
Lakes
Water
Authority
(GLWA)
to
operate
the
regional
water
and
sewer
systems
for the
next 40
years,
and cash
received
from
improving
the
department’s
collection
rate in
the past
three
years,
from 77
percent
to 94
percent.
In
calendar
year
2018,
DWSD
upgraded
25 miles
of water
main,
lined 22
miles of
sewer
piping
and
replaced
173 lead
service
lines.
This was
the most
water
and
sewer
construction
in the
past 15
years.
DWSD’s
CIP is
intended
to
improve
the
level of
service
and the
quality
of life
in
Detroit
by: •
Reducing
water
main
breaks
•
Reducing
street
flooding
and
sewer
system
failures;
•
Reducing
future
investment
in new
Combined
Sewer
Overflow
facilities
(wet
weather
treatment);
•
Increasing
acres
managed
by green
stormwater
infrastructure
(GSI);
•
Coordinating
with
other
public
and
private
agencies
to
maximize
dollars
invested
and
minimize
disruption
from
construction
activity;
•
Increasing
job
opportunities
for
Detroiters;
and •
Upgrading
and
maintaining
facilities,
equipment
and
systems
for
effective
operations.
“We
asked
our team
how do
we
leverage
our
capital
dollars
when
DWSD is
responsible
for
2,700
miles of
transmission
and
distribution
water
mains
and
nearly
3,000
miles of
sewer
collection
piping,”
said
Gary
Brown,
DWSD
director.
“We
decided
to take
a
neighborhood-by-neighborhood
approach,
starting
with
assessing
the
water
and
sewer
systems,
then
designing
an
upgrade
strategy
based
upon
that
data,
the
probability
of
failure
and the
consequence
of
failure
in the
pipes.”
In
late
2017,
DWSD
began
assessing
the
water
and
sewer
systems
by
neighborhood.
It
started
with
pilot
areas in
North
Rosedale
Park and
Cornerstone
Village
by
flushing
the
hydrants,
detecting
leaks in
the
water
mains,
and
placing
cameras
in the
sewer
pipes,
for
instance.
The data
was used
to
design
water
and
sewer
upgrades
for the
two
neighborhoods
where
construction
will
begin
this
year.
These
two
neighborhoods
were
chosen
because
they
were
identified
for
improvements
in a
previous
DWSD
water
and
sewer
master
plan.
Water
and
sewer
condition
assessments
have
since
also
been
completed
in
Brewster
Douglass,
Brightmoor,
Jefferson
Chalmers,
Miller
Grove,
Minock
Park,
Rosedale
Park
(south),
and
Riverdale.
The
results
of the
assessments
are
being
reviewed
and
designs
are
underway
for the
infrastructure
that
needs
rehabilitation.
“For
the
first
time in
decades,
we have
leadership
at DWSD
who are
lifelong
Detroit
residents
who
identify
with
what
residents
are
experiencing
in the
neighborhoods,”
said
Palencia
Mobley,
P.E.,
DWSD
deputy
director
and
chief
engineer
whose
team is
managing
the CIP
along
with
contractor
AECOM.
“We
looked
at how
we could
adapt a
neighborhood
approach
to
infrastructure
upgrades
that is
being
done by
other
city
departments,
and meet
our
increased
requirements
to
manage
stormwater.
We have
discovered
so far
under
this
approach
that
every
four
miles of
assessment,
results
in
approximately
one mile
of
infrastructure
replacement
or
rehabilitation.”
Planned
Investment
this
Year
Active
construction
contracts
for
Fiscal
Year
2020
starting
this
July 1,
are
composed
of 29
miles of
water
system
improvements
including
water
main and
meter
replacements
at $38.6
million,
19 miles
of sewer
lining
at $18.8
million
and an
$8.5
million
project
on
Oakman
Boulevard
which is
water
main
replacement
and GSI
between
Joy Road
and
Tireman
Avenue.
The GSI
project
will
manage
approximately
37
million
gallons
of
stormwater
annually.
There
are also
several
projects
in the
planning
and
design
phase
with the
costs
estimated
at $32
million
for the
water
system
and $16
million
for
sewer
system
improvements.
Replacing
Lead
Service
Lines
As
part of
the DWSD
CIP,
when
contractors
are on a
street
to
replace
a water
main,
they
also
replace
the lead
service
line –
when it
exists –
with
copper
pipe
with
owner/occupant
permission
at
DWSD’s
cost.
The
service
line is
the pipe
which
goes
from the
water
main to
the
house.
When
DWSD is
replacing
the
water
main, a
specialized
crew
will dig
a
four-foot
by
four-foot
hole
around
the stop
box
(turn-on/off
valve)
in the
front
yard of
each
home to
verify
the
service
line
material.
If there
is a
lead
service
line,
when the
new
water
main is
about to
be
connected,
the crew
will
return
and
replace
the lead
pipe
with
copper.
DWSD
implemented
an
outreach
plan
last
year in
advance
of
construction
projects,
and to
obtain
residents’
permission
to
replace
a lead
service
line on
the
property
during
water
main
work.
This
begins a
minimum
of 40
days
from the
start of
construction
and
includes
door-to-door
canvassing,
letters,
and
community
and
block
club
meetings.
Hiring
Detroiters
The DWSD
Capital
Improvement
Program
Management
Organization
(CIPMO)
has
designed
a
contractor
outreach
program
to
engage
more
Detroit-based
contractors
and
partner
with
them to
hire
Detroiters
for DWSD
work.
The
office
held its
first
contractor
fair in
January
of this
year and
will
hold
another
event
early in
2020.
Forty-four
Detroit
residents
are
working
specifically
on DWSD
CIP
contract
work
awarded
to
Inland
Waters
Pollution
Control
(IWPC).
Also,
subcontractors
have 13
Detroit
residents
working
on this
same
contract.
Additionally,
Lakeshore
Global
and its
subcontractors
have 11
Detroit
residents
working
on a
DWSD
water
main
contract
(they
employ a
total of
43
Detroit
residents).
Through
the
Executive
Order
2016-1,
DWSD is
requesting
contractors
have at
least
51% of
the
hours
worked
on its
construction
projects
be
performed
by
Detroiters.