ST. CHARLES VILLAGE – During the Wednesday, July 13 meeting of the St. Charles Village Council, much of the discussion centered around infrastructure improvements.

Paul Ginderske told the council, “There’s water sitting behind my house every time it rains. There’s no place to drain it. I can’t put in a sump pump. Now, I have mold.” He explained that his yard is the lowest point in the floodplain area.

DPW Superintendent Don Ackerman said, “The drainage is old in that area. It’s not tied directly to the county drain. We’ll look at it, Paul. It will go down as the river goes down.”

Village Manager Hartmann Aue explained that the village’s water and sewer system are old. He estimated a cost of $2.25 to $5 million to fix the village’s sewer and water systems in phase one and this requires four phases.

The village has been more focused on water system improvements due to the deadline imposed by the state to remove lead and copper pipes from municipal drinking water systems across the state. It’s an unfunded state mandate. Aue mentioned applying for funding through the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRLF); however, he believes the village may be too small to qualify. Other options are USDA Rural Development or possibly a loan through the Saginaw County Department of Public Works.

Aue said, “The lead and copper law is an unfunded mandate. We’re looking for ways to replace the (lead and copper water lines) without breaking the backs of the taxpayers or bankrupting the village. Galvanized steel pipes have to be treated as lead. We’re required to replace every single one that is lead or galvanized over several phases.” He explained that the Village of St. Charles has a bit of galvanized steel water lines. The project is very costly and even more costly now. Pipe that was $20 a foot is now $100 a foot this year.

The Village of St. Charles, as well as other Michigan municipalities providing water service, are on a hard deadline from the state to get the water lines replaced. As a result, some of the other infrastructure projects have had to take a back seat.

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