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Battle Creek holds public hearing on drinking-water loan plan to replace lead service lines
Summary
The City Commission held a public hearing May 6 on a proposed FY2026 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund project plan to replace confirmed lead service lines and investigate unknown service-line materials; the consultant described roughly $28 million in anticipated costs, a repayment scenario, and the state compliance deadline of 2041.
The Battle Creek City Commission held a public hearing May 6 on a fiscal year 2026 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) project plan to replace confirmed lead service lines and investigate 871 service lines of unknown material.
The project, presented by Aaron Davenport of Jones & Henry Engineers, would target 3,781 confirmed lead or galvanized service lines that were previously connected to lead. Davenport said the work is required by Michigan’s Lead and Copper Rule and noted the statewide compliance deadline: “All [lead service lines] within the entire state have to be gone by 2041.”
The consultant told the commission the anticipated cost for the program is “just shy of $28,000,000.” He described DWSRF as a state-administered federal program that provides low-interest loans and sometimes principal forgiveness or grants to overburdened communities. “There is no obligation for any of these loans until the time of loan closing,” Davenport said while explaining program requirements and the project-plan submittal deadlines.
Why it matters: replacing lead service lines is the city’s path to compliance under the state Lead and Copper Rule and is intended to reduce lead exposure in drinking water. Davenport said full replacement means replacing the service line from the water main to the first valve inside the home; for service lines of unknown material the city must expose both sides of the curb stop for verification.
Key details from the presentation included the consultant’s estimate of annual debt service — about $1,700,000 per year based on a 2.2% interest rate over 20 years — and the city’s accounting unit of 34,111 “equivalent meters.” Davenport described rate impacts as follows: the debt could be spread across those meters and, depending on available principal forgiveness and grants, the consultant said residents might see an impact that he characterized as “less than $5 per month to service this debt.”
Members of the public asked practical questions about who would bear costs on rental properties. Rhys Atkins asked, “are we going to be responsible for the, pain of this replacement of these pipes, or is that going to be on our landlord who actually owns the building?” Davenport (via the consultant team) said staff would follow up with a direct answer to that question.
Commissioners asked about next steps and timing. Commissioner Simmons asked whether the matter would return to the commission; commissioners were told a resolution on the application is expected at the next commission meeting. Commissioner Reynolds asked when work would start if the loan is awarded; the consultant said the plan is for the project to be a 2027 project if awarded. Commissioners and staff also reiterated that, regardless of the loan chosen, the statewide replacement mandate remains in effect through 2041.
The public hearing record included no written comments received before the meeting, according to the presenter, and the commission closed the hearing after public comment and discussion. No formal loan award or contract was approved at the May 6 meeting; staff indicated a resolution authorizing an application or other formal action would appear at a future meeting.
