Oakland Township to gain new $5.43 million groundwater storage facility

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — A multimillion-dollar groundwater storage facility is in the works for Oakland Township’s southeast water district.

Moody’s Ratings Services and Standard & Poor’s recently awarded their highest credit ratings to Oakland County for its $5.43 million Oakland Township 2022 water supply system improvements bond series. The bonds went on sale in May.

The bonds, officials explained, will finance the construction of a new groundwater storage tank facility for the township’s southeast water district, as well as all of the required pumps, generators, control systems and site improvements to operate the system.

“It’s a wellhouse we previously owned in the Knorrwood Pines area for the southeast water district. I think there are 360 users in the water district, and a state agency requires us to — after so many users in one district — have storage in case the pumps go bad or you have a fire or something like that,” Township Manager Adam Kline said.

The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office operates and maintains Oakland Township’s seven Type 1 water systems — which are referred to as the Knorrwood Knolls, Oakland Hunt, Plum Creek Southeast, Southwest, Twin Lakes and Wynstone systems.

In the southeast water district, six wells provide the pumping capacity for the well water-supplied system, which features two pressure districts, north and south, in the water system. The water system, officials said, was designed to allow water to move between pressure districts if there is a significant pressure drop.

When construction is complete, officials said, Oakland Township will meet the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s requirements for water systems with more than 150 living units.

“It will hold, I think it’s going to be, a half a million gallons of water,” Kline noted. “So residents should have uninterrupted service, if there were ever anything where we would need to fall back on the reserves — like if a pump breaks down.”

The bond series spans 30 years, officials said, to reduce the impact of the annual rate increases to the township’s 780 water customers.

In a statement, Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash said his office is proud to be a part of this project and to have the ability to reduce the rates for Oakland Township residents over time.

“In collaboration with the township, we are confident this solution will allow for additional capacity while helping us protect the environment regionally during heavy rains,” Nash said in a statement.

For more information, contact the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office at (248) 858-0958 or wrc@oakgov.com.