The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is a regional water authority in the U.S. state of Michigan. It provides drinking water treatment, drinking water distribution, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment services in Southeast Michigan, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, among others. GLWA operates much of the regional water and sewer infrastructure that formerly operated and maintained by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) prior to the Detroit bankruptcy in the early 2010s.
History The Great Lakes Water Authority was created in the fall of 2014 under a United States bankruptcy court order issued as part of the City of Detroit bankruptcy proceedings. The Detroit City Council voted to join the authority in September 2014 by a 7–2 vote, and the county commissions of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties voted to join in October 2014. The first meeting of the GLWA board was held on December 12, 2014.
The 40-year lease deal was approved on June 12, 2015, by a 5–1 vote of the Great Lakes Water Authority board, marking a historic regionalization of water control hailed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. The assumption of much of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's (DWSD) operations by the Great Lakes Water Authority will allow Detroit to fund improvements to Detroit's aging water infrastructure, such as repairs to old treatment facilities and leaking pipes. The lease payments to Detroit must be used for water purposes, and cannot be diverted to the general fund. The deal allows DWSD's workforce to be reduced from around 1,400 to around 500. The Great Lakes Water Authority will have about 900 employees.
In October 2015, following a nationwide search, Sue McCormick, the director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, was named the first chief executive officer of the Great Lakes Water Authority.
GLWA formally assumed operations from the Detroit Water Sewer District on January 1, 2016. The GLWA also assumed $4 billion of DWSD's debt. The assumption of Detroit's operations and debt is under a 40-year lease that GLWA has over the City of Detroit's water system. The lease agreement was brokered in secret mediation by U.S. District Judge Sean Cox and required "lengthy and contentious negotiations" between Detroit and suburban Detroit leaders, who feared any prospect of bailing out Detroit's water system. Under the agreement, the authority will pay the City "$50 million a year plus about $50 million a year toward pension costs and a fund to help struggling customers" in exchange for the city's water system.
Governance The Great Lakes Water Authority is governed by a board of directors. It consists of two representatives of the City of Detroit and one representative each from Oakland County, Macomb County, Wayne County, and the State of Michigan. The Detroit representatives are appointed by the mayor, the county representatives are appointed by their respective counties, and the state representative is appointed by the governor. The governor's appointee is intended to represent users of the water authority's services outside Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne, such as users in Washtenaw, Genesee, and Monroe counties.
The primary administrative center for the GLWA is the Water Board Building, which is located at 735 Randolph Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The Water Board Building houses the meeting chamber for the Board of Directors, and includes offices for the management officers for the GLWA.
Sue McCormick, who led GLWA since its inception, submitted her resignation as CEO on July 28, 2021. McCormick stepped down after increased pressure from local leaders when a loss of sewer pumping capacity happened during the June 28 rainfall event which realized six inches of rainfall depth over the Detroit metropolitan area. Suzanne Coffey, previously the agency's chief planning officer was named interim CEO by the GLWA Board of Directors on August 11, 2021. On June 27, 2022, it was announced that she would be promoted to permanent CEO. +Board of DirectorsNamePositionRepresentingBrian BakerBoard ChairpersonMacomb CountyMark MillerBoard Vice-ChairpersonState of MichiganJohn J. ZechBoard SecretaryWayne CountyJaye QuadrozziMemberOakland CountyFreman HendrixMemberCity of DetroitGary A. BrownMemberCity of Detroit
Services
The utility authority provides drinking water treatment, water transmission, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment services to almost four million customers from about 125 Michigan communities in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and other counties. About 75% of the authority's customers reside in the suburbs, with the remaining customers residing in the City of Detroit. The GLWA operates combined sewer overflow (CSO) facilities, drinking water booster pump stations, drinking water in-system storage, and wastewater pump stations. Small-diameter local water distribution mains and sanitary sewer in the local communities remain under their individual control.
The Central Services Facility (CSF) located at 6425 Huber Street in Detroit serves as the headquarters for all of the field maintenance staff which operate and maintain the non-treatment assets within the water distribution and wastewater collection service area. These assets include the large capacity raw sewage pumping stations which serve to lift sewage along the main interceptors, as well as the in-system drinking water booster stations which are located throughout the water distribution system. The CSF houses a central fusion control center which serves as a central control hub that can supervise the operation of all the treatment facilities, as well as the combined sewer overflow (CSO) assets, and security camera feeds for all GLWA properties.
Distribution system member communities Allen Park Auburn Hills Belleville Berkley Beverly Hills Bingham Farms Birmingham Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Township Clawson Dearborn Dearborn Heights Ecorse Farmington Farmington Hills Ferndale Garden City Grosse Ile Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe Farms Grosse Pointe Park Grosse Pointe Shores Grosse Pointe Woods Hamtramck Hazel Park Harper Woods Highland Park Huron Township Inkster Lathrup Village Livonia Melvindale Mt. Clemens New Haven Novi Oak Park Plymouth Redford River Rouge Riverview Rochester Hills Romulus Royal Oak Royal Oak Township Southfield Southgate Sterling Heights Taylor Trenton Troy Utica Walled Lake Warren Washington Township Wayne West Bloomfield Westland Wixom WoodhavenThe authority has not yet set water rates (which could be variable by community), although it aims to determine rates by March 2016 and make them effective by July 1, 2016. Annual rate increases will be capped at four percent for the first ten years of the authority's existence.
Structure
Drinking Water Treatment GLWA operates five drinking water treatment plants, one wastewater reclamation facility, nine combined sewer overflow treatment/screening facilities, water storage facilities/booster pump stations, and a central service maintenance facility. These facilities are located within the greater Detroit metropolitan area; however, the Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant is located in Fort Gratiot Township, north of Port Huron, Michigan.
The drinking water facilities all utilize a sedimentation and deep bed filtration process to treat and purify drinking water for the residents of their service areas. Disinfection of the treated water is accomplished by either chlorination or ozonation processes.
+Drinking Water Treatment FacilitiesFacilityLocationMunicipalityDate of ConstructionRated Capacity
(MGD)Max Pumping Capacity
(MGD)Finished Water Storage
(MG)Source WaterService AreaWaterworks Park Water Treatment Plant10100 East Jefferson AvenueDetroit1879 Original 2003 Expanded24056028Detroit RiverEast Detroit/Wayne CountyNortheast Water Treatment Plant11036 East 8 Mile RoadDetroit195630040030Detroit RiverNortheast Detroit/Wayne County, Southern Macomb County,
Southeast Oakland CountySpringwells Water Treatment Plant8300 West Warren AvenueDearborn1930 First Train 1958 Second Train54045060Detroit River - Belle Isle IntakeDetroit and Northern Wayne County, Eastern Washtenaw County,
Oakland County,
Southeastern Macomb CountySouthwest Water Treatment Plant14700 Moran RoadAllen Park196424031030Detroit RiverSouthern Wayne County, Northern Monroe County, Eastern Washtenaw CountyLake Huron Water Treatment Plant3993 Metcalf RoadFort Gratiot Township197440042044Lake HuronGenessee County, Lapeer County, St. Clair County, Monroe County, Oakland CountyTotals1,7202,400192 { "type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Lake Huron Water Treatment Plant", "marker-color": "#AA1205" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [ -82.494535446167, 43.0796402525152 ]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Northeast Water Treatment Plant", "marker-color": "#AA1205" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [ -83.01288843154909, 42.445580544912964 ]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Water Works Park Water Treatment Plant", "marker-color": "#AA1205" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [ -82.97857761383058, 42.357877962078675 ]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": { "title": "Springwells Water Treatment Plant", "marker-color": "#AA1205" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [ -83.15255641937257, 42.3467221596652 ]
},
"type": "Feature", "properties": {"title": "Southwest Water Treatment Plant", "marker-color": "#AA1205"}, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [ -83.20534229278566, 42.22959778306524 ]
] }
Drinking Water Distribution +Drinking Water Storage and Booster Pump StationsFacility NameAddressMunicipalityFunctionStorage Capacity (MG)Adams Road Pump Station6201 Adams RoadBloomfield HillsBooster Pump StationEastside Station18301 East Warren AveDetroitWater Storage and Booster Pump StationElectric Avenue Station1140 Montie AvenueLincoln Park Water Storage and Booster Pump StationFord Road Station26015 Ford RoadDearborn HeightsWater Storage and Booster Pump StationFranklin Station7404 Inkster RoadWest BloomfieldWater Storage and Booster Pump StationHaggerty Station39955 West 14 Mile RoadNoviWater Storage and Booster Pump Station70 Imlay Pump Station430 Wheeling RoadImlay CityWater Storage and Booster Pump StationJoy Road Station43127 Joy RoadCanton TownshipWater Storage and Booster Pump StationNewburgh Station36363 West 8 Mile RoadLivoniaBooster Pump StationNorth Service Center1850 East South BoulevardTroyWater Storage and Booster Pump StationNorthwest Station20440 James Couzens FreewayDetroitWater Storage and Booster Pump StationOrion Station3655 Giddings RoadAuburn HillsBooster Pump StationRochester Station2851 East 24 Mile RoadShelby TownshipBooster Pump StationSchoolcraft Pump Station30365 Schoolcraft Road LivoniaWater Storage and Booster Pump StationWest Chicago Street28720 West Chicago StreetLivoniaWater Storage and Booster Pump StationWest Service Center20920 East StreetSouthfieldWater Storage and Booster Pump StationWick Pump Station32280 Wick RoadRomulusWater Storage and Booster Pump StationYpsilanti Station361 Rawsonville RoadVan Buren TownshipBooster Pump Station
Combined Sewer Overflow Prevention and Pollution Control
The Great Lakes Water Authority operates and maintains nine individual combined sewer overflow pollution prevention facilities located within the original combined sewer service area. These facilities were planned and constructed in the late 1990's through the early 2000's to contain and treat wet-weather wastewater flows which originated in the legacy combined sewer areas of the Detroit metro area.