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County moves to back $14 million sanitary system improvements for Evergreen‑Farmington drainage district
Summary
Oakland County’s finance committee approved a request to pledge the county’s full faith and credit to issue bonds to complete a $14 million Evergreen‑Farmington sanitary drainage project required by an administrative consent order; presentation described five project areas and possible state low‑interest loans.
Ben Lewis, assistant chief engineer at the Water Resources Commissioner’s Office, and bond counsel Laura Bassett described a $14,000,000 project to complete required sanitary sewer improvements in the Evergreen‑Farmington Sanitary Drainage District. The county sought the Board’s pledge of full faith and credit to issue bonds for improvements intended to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows and correct infiltration and inflow problems cited in an administrative consent order.
Lewis outlined five geographically separate project areas included in the scope: Melrose Weir site (north of 8 Mile), work along 8 Mile Road east to Southfield, siphon removal west of Southfield, meter work at Lathrop Village (11 Mile and Evergreen), and repairs at Walnut 1 pump station near 14 Mile in Inkster. The presenters said completing these projects is intended to resolve the county’s administrative consent order and reduce basement backups and overflows.
Commissioners asked about program history and funding. Lewis said the consent order traces to 2019 and that the county has worked on the system for years. The county expects to use the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program to borrow at a subsidized fixed rate (presenter gave an SRF example of 2.5% for 20 years) rather than entering the public bond market at higher rates. Lewis and finance staff said SRF loans remain a county obligation repaid by ratepayers; the county must borrow to fund immediate construction but can use SRF for lower‑cost financing.
The committee approved the motion to pledge full faith and credit and proceed with the project and bonding plan.
