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DWSD official says drainage fee covers stormwater work; Lifeline program to be scaled as federal funds shrink
Summary
Detroit Water & Sewerage Department told council every parcel pays a drainage charge based on impervious surface; EasyPay will spread past‑due balances while the Lifeline affordability program will continue but with reduced enrollment tied to available funding.
Sonali Patel, a representative of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, told the City Council on Oct. 2 that every property in Detroit receives a drainage charge and that the fee is calculated by the amount of impervious surface on each parcel.
"All of our residents in the City, every parcel in the City is charged the drainage fee, whether it is faith based, residential, commercial, nonprofit," Patel said, explaining that the charge funds stormwater management, green infrastructure and efforts to reduce combined sewer overflows into the Detroit and Rouge rivers.
The council had received multiple public comments from residents who called the drainage fee a heavy burden on legacy residents, faith organizations and small businesses. Vice Chair Mary Callaway asked whether churches and nonprofits are charged differently; Patel replied they are not. "Every property is calculated the same way in the City Of Detroit," she said.
Patel described two programs intended to ease bills. EasyPay is a payment‑plan arrangement available to all DWSD account holders that lets a customer put down a small deposit (for example, $10) and spread an outstanding balance across up to 36 months. "EasyPay plan is our payment arrangement plan," Patel said, "that is meant to take how much you owed previously ... and restructure it." She emphasized EasyPay does not reduce the total owed; it restructures arrears so customers can avoid shutoffs while keeping up with ongoing monthly bills.
The Lifeline plan is an income‑based affordability program launched about three years ago that relied heavily on federal and state dollars. Patel said the department is "restructuring the Lifeline Plan" because the large federal and state funding streams that supported higher enrollment during and after COVID have diminished. "We are not canceling the plan, but the amount of enrollees that it can support will be reduced based on the funding that becomes available to us," she said.
Patel told the council DWSD can provide comparative data on drainage charges in neighboring municipalities and offered to submit that information as a memo. Council members asked for that regional comparison and pressed for clarity about how Lifeline applicants will be enrolled moving forward.
The discussion closed with the department urging residents to use EasyPay if they have past‑due balances and with a pledge to send materials to the council addressing comparisons, program caps and application procedures.
Looking ahead, council members said they will review the DWSD memo and follow up on whether additional local relief or program changes are warranted.
