UTILITY DEPARTMENT
Account Management
Wastewater bills are due on the 15th of February, May, August and November annually. You should expect to receive these bills about a month before their due dates.
You may pay via check or cash for no additional cost in the office (or utilize the mail or drop-box outside the Township office). Alternatively, you may pay electronically in the office or at the link above link (including via credit/debit cards) for an additional fee.
To update your personal information including name on the account or billing address, please contact our office at 517-750-2800 or Treasurer@SpringArbor.org with you request.
Service and Connection Information
Spring Arbor, with our partner Summit Township, operates the sewer system, while sewage within the system is treated by the City of Jackson.
To connect to the wastewater system, a permit and connection fee are required. Installation of the service pipe from the building to the main is the property owner’s expense, as is the purchase and installation cost of the grinder pump if one is required. Although routine maintenance of the grinder pump is the Township’s responsibility, blockages or other disruptions of the service pipe for the gravity and the pressurized system is the property owner’s responsibility.
One is required to connect to the public sewer system if the system is located in a right of way, easement, highway, street or public way which crosses, adjoins or abuts upon the property and passes not more than two hundred feet at the nearest point from a structure in which sanitary sewage originates.
New developments, not meeting the requirement above, are encouraged, and if economically feasible required, to connect to the system. The purpose of this is to reduce the potential of ground water contamination, and to provide current and future residents of the Township a low cost and reliable means of wastewater disposal.
Information regarding the availability of municipal wastewater collection in a specific area and applicable fees can be obtained by calling the Township Treasurer at 517-750-2800.
Users of the System are connected in one of two ways. Virtually all customers connected to the initial system are connected via a gravity pipe…. wastewater flows from the building to the sewer main in the street via gravity. Many customers connected to the System in recent years have installed “grinders” at the building, and wastes are pumped under pressure into a pressurized sewer main. The use of pressurized mains reduces the size of main required, allows for shallow installation, and reduces the number of lift stations required. All of these are factors that reduce the cost of providing wastewater collection. Evidence of a pressurized main is the presence of a visible gray box with a red light on top. If the red light is illuminated the grinder pump is not operating properly and a service call should be made.
Spring Arbor Township contracts with the City of Jackson for the treatment of wastewater. A majority of the wastewater collected in the Township is pumped to two settling lagoons where air is introduced to encourage the breakdown of solids before it is pumped into the City. Use of the lagoons allows for some evaporation and “sweetens” the wastewater before it reaches the City’s disposal plant. Both of these actions reduce the ultimate processing cost for the Township. Spring Arbor Township also has agreements with Summit and Blackman Township for use of their facilities as a means of transporting the wastewater to the City for treatment.
Rates
The rate for residential sewer service is $79.50 each quarter. Rates for any structure not residential (including duplexes and commercial property) is based on a residential equivalent unit and will be reviewed by Township staff prior to a rate being provided.
Customer Support
If you are experiencing a sewer emergency or if the red light on a canister is on, please call 517-780-4671 day or night.
For billing inquiries, call 517-750-2800.
Please note, bills delinquent by six months as of September 1 become a lien on the property and will be billed on the next winter tax bill.
System News and How to Help Care for it
As of January 1, Spring Arbor and Summit Townships have consolidated water systems into a single, unified water utility. This move aims to provide residents with more reliable water service, ensure long-term sustainability, and lower operating costs. Water system customers will experience an approximately 45% decrease in rates paid this year. Water bills are now coming from and payable to Summit Township. You may reach Summit’s Department of Public Works at 517-788-4113.
The Township’s remaining utility is sewer and again this year, maintaining infrastructure is a need that must be met. We will be asking for an adjustment in sewer rates to reflect the costs for improvements to our aging system. We continue to balance the need for the lowest fees possible with the need for a reliable system.
Additionally, we remind you that wipes (including those marketed as flushable), grease, toys, rags and medical items should NEVER be flushed down the toilet into the sewer system. Flushing these and other items is the primary cause of back-ups and leads to additional expenses. If you are on the grinder pump system, please be advised that these “canisters” are never to be buried, covered, or recessed below the grade of the ground around them. Shrubs, rocks, and trees should never be installed within six feet of canisters. The canister and electrical panel should be in plain view with no obstructions in order to allow us to work on and access 24/7. All sewer customers are reminded that downspouts are never to be connected to sump pumps that flow into the sewer system, doing so is against the law. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and will play a key role in helping prevent additional increases in system maintenance costs.