Effective immediately new connections to the Oxford Township water system will cost $4,800 each.
Township officials Feb. 23 voted unanimously to raise new tap fees from $3,800 to $4,800 in an effort to finance approximately $16 million worth of planned improvements to the water system over the next few years.
Officials Feb. 23 also voted to bond the approximate $16 million in water system improvements through Oakland County and directed Treasuer Joe Ferrari to make the arrangements.
This was the second time in February officials have voted to raise the tap fees.
At its Feb. 9 meeting, the township board voted to increase new connection fees from $2,500 to $3,800.
At the time, officials said the increase was to cover the township’s cost for new taps ? an expense the $2,500 fee was not covering ? and begin generating revenue for the coming improvements.
Trustee Charlie Kniffen said it was decided to again raise tap fees to $4,800 so as to possibly avoid assessing a ‘capital charge? on the quarterly bills of the water system’s 1,884 existing customers.
The idea is new and future connections to the water system as the township grows will hopefully generate enough revenue to pay off the approximately $16 million bond without placing a capital charge on existing users.
These improvements include the following:
(Note: The time-tables listed for the projects are only estimates, ‘not hard and fast? time frames, according to township Engineer Shannon Parry, of Rowe, Inc. ‘Everything is contingent on the township getting all the financing squared away and hiring the contractors to do the work,? she said.)
** An approximately 120-foot high elevated water storage tank with a 1-million gallon capacity to be constructed on the east side of N. Oxford Road, just south of Ray Road, across from Oxford High School.
Off-site fabrication of the tower is projected to begin in May 2005 and be completed in November 2005. On-site construction of the tower is projected to begin in November 2005 and end in June 2006.
The new tower’s purpose is to increase system capacity during peak usage times with the goal being to eliminate previous water restrictions imposed during the last few summers due to low water levels in the existing 500,000-gallon storage tank in the Red Barn subdivision.
** Four new water treatment plants ? One 3,600-square-foot plant will be located in the Oxford Woods subdivision. Construction is projected to begin in May 2005 and end in January 2006 with the plant becoming operational that same month. The approximately $1.6 million plant will treat approximately 2,000 gallons of water per minute.
A second 5,700-square-foot treatment plant will be located at the southern end of the township’s 28-acre parcel at Seymour Lake and Granger roads (the site of the future township hall, also in the planning stages).
Construction is projected to begin in September 2005 and end in February 2006, however, the goal is to get the plant operational in January while completing construction of the building.
The approximately $3.2 million Granger/Seymour Lake plant will treat approximately 3,000 gallons of water per minute, but it will be capable ot treating 4,000 gallons per minute to satisfy state requirements.
Two other plants may also be built ? one at the Oxford Oaks well site (west of M-24) and one somewhere east of M-24 ? but no concrete plans are in the works.
The purpose of the water treatment plants is to reduce the levels of arsenic and iron in the township’s well water.
The Oxford Woods and Seymour Lake/Granger plants must be operational by Jan. 22, 2006 in order to comply with new federal regulations which lowered the allowable levels of arsenic in municipal water supplies.
If the township is not compliant by that date, it could face substantial fines by the Michigan Department of Enivronmental Quality, according to Parry.
Based on a pilot study conducted at the Oxford Woods well site, it appears the treatment plant there should also remove approximately 80 percent of the iron from the water, Parry indicated.
How much iron will be removed by the Granger/Seymour Lake treatment plant has not been determined as the pilot study for this area is not scheduled to take place until sometime next week.
Technically, all the treatment plants are designed primarily for iron removal, but the process used has the added benefit of filtering out arsenic as well, according to Parry.
** A new water main connecting the Granger/Seymour Lake treatment plant to existing water main stubs at West Bay Shore Drive and West Market Street.
This new main will pump water to both the low pressure and high pressure zones in the township. Construction is projected to begin in January 2006 and be completed in March 2006 with the main operational in April 2006.
** A raw water line extending from the Mickelson Shores well field to the Granger/Seymour Lake treatment plant. Untreated water from the Mickelson Shores well field will be pumped through this line to the treatment plant.
The raw line is a cost efficient and effective alternative to building a treatment plant at the Mickelson Shores well field. Construction is projected to begin in August 2005 and be completed in October 2005 with the line operational that same month.
** New water mains on M-24 extending from Market Street to the northern village limits and from the southern village limits to Drahner Road.
It will allow M-24 businesses north and south of the village limits who are currently hooked up to the village water system access to the township system, something presently not available to them.
Construction on the mains between Market Street and the nothern village limits is projected to begin in November 2005 and end in March 2006 with the main operational that same month.
Construction on the main between the southern village limits and Drahner Road is projected to begin in Feb. 2006 and end in August/September 2006 with the new mains operational in July 2006.