Replacing more than 26-hundred lead service lines. That's the daunting project facing the City of Niles.
A state mandate requires all cities in Michigan to get rid of lead pipes.
According to Jeff Dunlap, City of Niles Utilities Manager, just replacing the lines would cost around 18 million dollars. Money, he says, they simply don't have.
“We test water every day,” said Dunlap.
Dunlap says the water in the city is safe to drink.
However, the municipal budget sets aside 300-thousand dollars a year for around 50 emergency lead water line replacements.
A number they have to increase to reach the state mandate to replace all of the lead pipes in 20 years.
Nearby Benton Harbor, facing a water crisis, is scheduled to replace nearly double the amount of lines in less than 2 years.
“The Michigan legislature had appropriated money out of the Michigan budget for the Benton Harbor project so they could do it all at once,” said Dunlap.
Money cities like Niles need to raise themselves. In addition to replacing water lines, the city must update its water meters and fire hydrants.
To get the more than 26 million dollar project started, city council approved applying for a low-interest loan from the state.
For every 3 million the city borrows, rate payers could pay a dollar-fifty more a month for the next 20 years.
A cost that doesn't sit well with Council Member John DiCostanzo.
“Instead of following the science, they're following the politics and now all the communities are being forced to spend all this money,” said DiCostanzo.
The City Administrator hopes they can also get loan forgiveness, meaning those rates would not be passed on to people living in Niles.
That's if the loan gets approved by the state at all.
Dunlap says state funding wasn't provided for the city's past dam project, costing Niles nearly 12 million dollars to fix.
“We're used to kind of picking ourselves up by the bootstraps in this community and saying hey this is a problem they aren't going to solve nationally or at the state for us. We have to solve it ourselves and this is the best way to do it,” said Dunlap.
The Project Plan will now be sent to the state for approval.
The city of Niles is expecting to find out if it has received the loan in August.