Great Lakes Water Authority

UtilitiesMichigan, United States501-1000 Employees

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is a regional water and sewer authority that services nearly 40 percent of the water customers in Michigan

On June 12, 2015, history was made as the Great Lakes Water Authority and the City of Detroit entered into 40-year leases providing for GLWA’s operation of the regional water and sewer system. On January 1, 2016, GLWA began regional operations.  GLWA is an important example of regional collaboration in southeast Michigan, with the City of Detroit, the counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb, and the State of Michigan officially uniting to ensure that both city and suburban water and sewer customers have a powerful voice in the management and direction of one of largest water and wastewater utilities in the United States.

With the stand-up of the new authority, GLWA assumed operational, infrastructure improvements, environmental compliance and budget-setting responsibilities for the regional water and sewage treatment plants, major water transmission mains and sewage interceptors, and related facilities. These facilities are leased from the City of Detroit for an allocation of $50 million per year to fund capital improvements for the City of Detroit retail system and/or Detroit’s share of capital improvements to the regional system.

Currently GLWA provides wholesale water and waste water services to 126 municipalities in seven Southeastern Michigan counties, which is equivalent to approximately 3.9 million customers. 

In keeping with the spirit of collaboration from which GLWA was created, the authority is governed by a Board of Directors that includes one representative each from Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties as well as two representatives from the City of Detroit, and one appointed by the Governor of the State of Michigan to represent customer communities outside the tri-county area.

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