U.S. Water News Online
WARREN, Mich. -- With a 14 percent water rate hike set to go into effect, city officials say they will file a lawsuit to stop the increase.
Attorneys for the City of Warren were expected to file the lawsuit in Macomb County Circuit Court against the City of Detroit.
Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh says Detroit is unfairly raising its wholesale charges.
Steenbergh also claims that Detroit is illegally withholding the formula it uses to calculate Warren's water rates and is charging the city's residents for services they don't use.
``When residents flush their toilets or wash their dishes, the wastewater leaves their homes and goes through a series of pipes to the City of Warren's Waste Water Treatment Plant,'' Steenbergh said.
``So all we pay Detroit for is taking water out of the Detroit River, treating it, and delivering it to Warren's border.''
Detroit water officials say the increases are needed to help pay for $4.3 million in major improvements to Detroit's century-old water system, one of the largest in the country. Included would be new safeguards against terrorist attacks
The Detroit water board sets the rates for suburban communities on its regional system. The 125 cities, in turn, set rates for their 4 million customers.
According to Warren city attorney George Constance, the lawsuit was born out of repeated attempts to find out how the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department calculates the water rate for suburban customers.
Jamaine Dickens, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, said Detroit has provided everything Warren has requested.
``Mayor Kilpatrick believes that it is time for everyone to sit down and see how the city can provide better service for the region, but (Warren officials) are not willing to do that,'' Dickens said. ``They would rather call attention to a nonissue.''
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields