Water and sewer rates approved for 2026-2027

By Dana Casadei

A 3.5 percent increase to both Bloomfield Township water and sewer rates for 2026-2027 was approved by the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees at their meeting on Monday, April 27. 

Noah Mehalski, director of public works, came before the board again at the Monday night meeting. He also spoke at their last meeting on Monday, April 13 to discuss the rates. 

While Mehalski’s approved increase is only 3.5 percent for both water and sewer rates, the estimated increase for the South Oakland County Water Authority (SOCWA) is at 7.5 percent and the Oakland County Water Resource Commissioner (OCWRC) is proposing a six percent increase. 

Bloomfield Township distributes water to residents that is supplied by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) through SOCWA, and sewer is provided by OCWRC.

“You’re still minimizing the cost to the residents versus what is being proposed to us. Kudos to you for trying to keep rates as conservative as possible,” said trustee Neal Barnett at the April 13 meeting. 

Currently, the Meter Equivalency Unit (MEU) structure is used in the township, which allows for billing of fixed fees based on the potential draw of the system that is determined by meter size. There’s hopes that this will change to a tiered rate system after more data is collected from the new meter program, currently in its fifth year. 

This sort of rate structure would work to achieve the goal of customer control of costs, and rewards water conservation with lower rates while those who use more water would pay a higher tier.

The meter replacement program was originally created to help replace the 52 percent of meters in the township that are over 15 years old, taking advantage of the technological updates to meters, therefore, giving the township the data to better accurately reflect the amount of water passing through the pipes.

There were also talks of beginning to implement monthly billing during the 2026-2027 rate year, something Mehalski said has been requested by customers. 

Right now, the township bills one third of the residents each month. In total, the switch to monthly will cost an estimated $20,000 in set up and execution, and while it would be more work, all trustees seemed confident it could be handled by the team.

“We try to make sure that we have good pipes in the ground, and we continue to invest in the infrastructure,” trustee Chris Kolinski said in mid-April. “We do not want to be a community that continues to have sewer main breaks or rate instability. I believe what we’re doing is right.”

Some communities charge a flat fee for their water and sewer rates, but Bloomfield Township is not one of them, which is, in part, why residents often see rate increases year after year. Another reason is because Bloomfield Township has historically experienced a decline in water usage per customer account over the last 20 years, coming in at about one to two percent decreases each year, on par with a national trend of decreases in water usage. 

Bloomfield Township members pay an often higher rate compared to others in nearby communities because of size, scale and scope as well. Since Bloomfield Township is such a spread out township there are fewer people on the system paying into each pipe. Fewer people paying into each pipe equals higher costs when comparing it to say, Birmingham, whose system is one-third the length of Bloomfield Township’s, which has 330 miles of water pipes that have to be maintained.

The township owns, operates and maintains over 500 miles of buried water main and sanitary sewer lines.

Water and sewer rates for 2026-2027 passed 6-1 with trustee Mark Antakli voting no.