Press Release | Office of the Mayor | Westland Looks to Team Up to Cut Water Costs

For Immediate Release | Official Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

36300 Warren Road | Westland, Michigan | 48185

Office 734.467.3200 | Fax 734.422.1230

WWW.CITYOFWESTLAND.COM

Westland Looks to Team Up to Cut Water Costs

Westland, MI (September 24, 2020) - Westland, Livonia, Canton Township and Northville Township are working together to try to reduce their resident's water bills by considering the creation of a regional water authority.

Combined, the four communities purchase more than $34 million a year in water from the Great Lakes Water Authority.

It is projected that purchasing water collectively through establishing a Western Wayne Regional Water Authority could lower water rates as soon as July 1, 2021. Greater savings could be seen in future years through capital investments, such as constructing water storage tanks. The proposed authority will still purchase water from the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).

Preliminary talks among the four communities shaped an initial agreement that each community has approved. That memorandum of understanding establishes a four-month study by engineering, legal and financial experts to assess the concept.

"Westland is proud to be a partner in this innovative regional approach to leverage the combined purchasing power of our four communities to potentially lower the cost of delivering clean water to our residents and business owners," said Westland Mayor William R. Wild.

Each community has dedicated funding for this first stage of the evaluation, with Livonia serving as the fiduciary. Once the study is complete, the communities will report out on the anticipated savings of creating a Western Wayne County Water Authority.

For more information, please contact the Mayor's Office at (734)467-3200

Westland, Michigan is the state's 10th largest municipality, with a population of over 84,000 people who exhibit a great deal of pride in their All-American City. Westland has a thriving business community along with beautiful residential areas. The citizens enjoy a wide array of amenities and a quality of life that is second to none.

In 2014, Westland was rated as one of 24/7 Wall Street's America's Best 50 Cities to Live, offering residents and visitors an ideal blend of single-family affordable homes, apartments and condominiums, great schools, and access to numerous outdoor activities. Public safety is delivered by full-service, professional law enforcement and firefighting personnel. Westland Police Department, whose motto is protect and serve, provides emergency dispatch services to four cities and over 100,000 residents; the Westland Fire Department are licensed paramedics who responded to over 9,000 calls for service last year, about 85% being medical based. They never forget their mission of preserving life and property.

Westland is well-known as the premier destination for shopping and dining in Wayne County with hundreds of shops and restaurants anchored by the Westland Shopping Center, one of the country's original four regional malls.

The City is served by two public school districts; Wayne-Westland Community Schools serving 12,000 youth was recently named one of the Best School in Michigan by WXYZ-TV and is the proud recipient of 14 Golden Apple and two Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School Awards. Livonia Public Schools, educating nearly 15,000 students, is proud of their MEAP/MME scores that exceed state averages and the District has also earned Golden Apple and Michigan Blue Ribbon Exemplary School Awards.

The City provides competitive incentives for those who are interested in investing in Westland, making it one of the hottest investment markets in the region. Our Fast-Track to Business Team, which consists of key decision makers who work diligently on a development plan will "cut the red tape" and expedite the approval process for new business development.