Gaines Charter Township, Kent Co., Michigan: Water & Sewer Departments

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For after hours water/sewer emergencies
please call Eagle Security 616-248-5024

Gaines Charter Township is a wholesale water customer of the City of Wyoming, and a wholesale sewer customer of both the City of Wyoming and the City of Grand Rapids.

Residents of Gaines Charter Township that are connected to the water and sewer system are billed quarterly by Gaines Township Water and Sewer Department. If you have questions about your bill or are experiencing any problems with your service, please call (616) 698-6640, ext. 24 or 25.

Water / Sewer Department Staff

Janice Boone
Water/Sewer Administrator
(616) 541-0339 Extension 25
janice.boone@gainestownship.org

Debbie Jensen
Water/Sewer Accounting Clerk
(616) 541-0339 Extension 24
debbie.jensen@gainestownship.org

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Application Forms and Permits

Irrigation

The Township is advocating the use of irrigation meters for all properties that have sprinkling systems. Lawn irrigation is the largest use of water during the spring, summer and fall months. Please be mindful of how often your sprinkler system is set and how many gallons the system uses per session. For instance, a typical zone will throw out 12 gallons of water per minute. How many zones do you have and how many minutes does each zone run? An irrigation system can raise your summer and fall usage bill two or three times what the winter usage would be.

To find out more about how to reduce your usage bills please contact Jan at 616-541-0339 ext. 25. The installation of an irrigation meter will begin to save you money immediately.

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Payment

You have various options for making your water/sewer payments:

By mail (Postmarks are not accepted)
By delivery during regular business hours Monday-Friday 8:30am - 5:00 pm
By depositing in our drop box for next day credit
By automatic withdraw from savings or checking account Water Auto Pay Form
By paying with your credit card (Using either 3229 as a jurisdiction code or look up under Gaines Charter Township)

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Rates

2008 Adopted Water and Sewer Rates and Charges

The Water and Sewer Department completes a rate study every fall and reviews the projected revenue requirement for the coming year. After the study is completed, the findings are presented to the Water and Sewer Committee and to the Township Board with recommendations for rate increases/decreases for their consideration. All changes are approved by the Township Board prior to implementation.

The current usage rates for 2008 are $1.68 per 1000 gallons for water usage and $2.73 per 1000 gallons for sewer usage. Every customer is also charged a fixed expense for both water and sewer called the Ready to Serve (RTS) charge. These charges are based on meter size and currently most residential customers are charged a fee of $14.00 per quarter for the water RTS charge and a fee of $10.18 per quarter for the sewer RTS charge. For a complete schedule of rates and charges you should contact the Water and Sewer Department.

It is hard to predict where the water and sewer rates are going in the future. We project that there are two major influences on the rates that will affect how they are adjusted. First, as the water and sewer system customer base continues to increase in size we are able to distribute expenses to a larger group, thereby reducing the cost to each individual customer. Second, the Water and Sewer Treatment Plants are both undergoing major renovations and expansions after being in service for 40-50 years. The improvements are necessary due to the age of the plants and are major projects of considerable expense. This will be an obvious influence on future rates. We are also finding that energy prices are becoming a greater influence on rates as energy costs continue to rise and stay high.

Gaines Township continues to partner with Byron Township to share a Water and Sewer Operations and Maintenance Department. This continues to be a strong partnership as we share an interconnected water and sewer system. Both Townships are also wholesale customers of the City of Wyoming for both water and sewer. A portion of Gaines in the Dutton area is also served by the City of Grand Rapids in a wholesale customer relationship.

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Service / Moving

If you are moving away, please call our office so that we can make arrangements for a final water meter read. If you are moving into the Township, please call to have the water/sewer bill put in your name. Our number is (616) 698-6640, ext. 24 or 25

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Water Reports