Water Sector News
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DWSD INVESTED $240M IN WATER AND SEWER UPGRADES THE PAST TWO YEARS; OUTLINES 2021-22 PROJECTS AT AN ADDITIONAL $200M
DETROIT – Today on Parkland at Rouge Park in the Far West neighborhood, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) officials provided an update on the $240.4M invested in water and sewer upgrades in the past two years. More construction is planned this summer and next year at $203.9M, including a massive project in Far West Detroit. DWSD also announced an equity initiative to put more Detroiters and Detroit-based and black-owned contractors to work on its capital improvement program.
In June 2019, DWSD launched a new data-driven capital improvement program to begin to address the aging water and sewer infrastructure.
“We are undertaking the largest water and sewer upgrade program in more than 80 years,” said DWSD Director Gary Brown. “Water affordability is at the forefront of every decision we make at DWSD. We are performing this work without double-digit rate increases, and in fact, the increases have averaged three percent annually since 2016. And, we are in the process of recruiting a procurement coordinator whose sole purpose will be to engage more Detroit-based and black-owned contractors, whether as a prime contractor leading a project or a subcontractor working on specific areas such as landscaping.”