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Water and Sewer Rates

Bloomfield Township purchases water from the Southeast Oakland County Water Authority (SOCWA) and is a community member of Oakland County's Evergreen-Farmington Sewage Disposal System for sewage services.

Water Costs

SOCWA charges the Township for water based on the rate they receive from Detroit Water & Sewerage Department for the cost to safely treat and transport the water to the Township's water distribution system.

Components that determine SOCWA’s cost to meet the Township's water demand include the labor, equipment, materials and utility costs for the system's maintenance and operation. Additionally, the capital improvement costs for system upgrades as well as costs associated to meet state and federal mandates to assure the water is safe to drink are included.

Sewer Costs

The Township is a second-tier customer of the City of Detroit for sewer services and the sewer rate is established by Oakland County. The County charges the Township for sewer based upon metered sewage flows. There is currently no way to measure the actual sewage at each residence, therefore, residents are billed based upon the volume of metered water usage. Along with the standard operating and maintenance costs the sewer rate also varies upon the cost associated to the treating and disposing of water seepage during dry and wet periods (rainfall). Capital costs necessary to implement pollution prevention measures as mandated by the USEPA are also included.

Customer Retail Rates

The retail rates for the Township customer include these water and sewer costs as well as the operating expenses necessary for the Township to maintain the system. In addition to the annual operating expenses, the retail rate includes a component for capital improvement and system replacement costs. The sewer rate also includes the operating expenses for the County's combined sewer overflow (CSO) retention basin and the cost associated for the Township's sewer rehabilitation program as mandated by State and Federal regulations.

The Water & Sewer Division annually reviews the department operations to assure sufficient funds are collected to cover these increasing costs. Historically, the Township adjusts the retail rate proportionally with these rising water and sewer costs.

Currently, the Township's portion of the retail rates for department operation, maintenance and capital improvement expenditures is approximately 30% of the total retail rate. This means that 30 cents of every dollar of water purchased by a water and sewer customer stays in the Township to meet these operational and capital improvement expenses.

Water and sewer rates are established by resolution and approved by the Township Board. The rates as of April 1, 2012 for water and sewer services are as follows:

USAGE RATES

• Water - $4.66 per 1000 gal
• Sewer - $6.50 per 1000 gal
• Sewer Only - $208.00 per quarter

FIXED RATES

• Ready to Serve - $11.50 per quarter
• Water Debt - $8.00 per quarter
• Sewer Debt - $8.00 per quarter

The Ready to Serve charge is a flat fee billed quarterly for every home that is connected to the water system. This charge is for having access to the water line that serves each individual property and goes towards the operation and maintenance costs associated with those lines. Much like the name suggests, once a property connects to the water system, that connection must be maintained, regardless if there is water usage, so that the water system is ‘ready to serve’ that connection if and when there is a demand for water.

The water and sewer debt charges are flat fees billed quarterly for every home that is connected to the water and/or sewer system. These fees go towards the Township’s obligation to pay back the bonds that have been sold for water and sewer main improvements.

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Charter Township of Bloomfield
4200 Telegraph Road
P.O. Box 489
Bloomfield Township, MI 48303-0489
248.433.7700
All information © 2013 Bloomfield Township, Michigan 

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