Water System

Requirements

A new policy allows us to replace lead service lines at no cost to homeowners. The policy applies if your home or commercial property meets these requirements:

• There is a leak on the lead water service line
• Your home is within the limits of a water main replacement project

Property Requirements

• Must be a residential or commercial property
• Must have lead water service verified by a City of Grand Rapids Representative

If you meet these conditions, you can qualify to have your lead service replaced.

Leaks, Emergencies, or Service Disturbances

Make sure the water service leak qualifies as an emergency. Water service leaks on the private or public side qualify as emergencies. Negligent actions by the homeowner or contractor disqualify the service from a City-sponsored replacement

Reported water service leaks must occur after 3/28/2017

You'll need to sign a Water Service Agreement before work begins on your property. We'll coordinate the repairs and work with an approved City contractor/plumber to replace the line

Contact us at 616-456-3141 if you need to report a leak.

City Projects

We call and send you mailers when there is an upcoming City project on your street. You need to sign a Water Service Agreement before work begins on your property.

Voluntary Lead Replacement Line

If you don't meet one of the two service line conditions, you can still have your lead service line replaced. You'll just need to pay for it yourself. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to replace the private side of the lead service line.

You can use a Ten-Pay program to spread the cost over 10 years. You'll pay a small interest rate.

The City will replace the lead service line on the public side of the service at no cost to you.

Contact us at 616-456-3041 for more information.

In 2018, the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant pumped more than 13.5 billion gallons of water to our customers.

For more information about the Water System or available tours of the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant, give us a call. Our contact info is located in the Contact Us panel on this page.

2018 Consumer Confidence Report

The annual report details the results of water quality monitoring during 2018, as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

English Version

• 2018 Consumer Confidence Report

Spanish Version

• Informe de calidad del agua del año 2018

Report Library

We work hard to make sure our water is the highest quality. It's important to us that you know everything you need to about your water quality. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires us to monitor water quality all year. At the end of each year, we put together a Consumer Confidence Report. Use the report library to find the current and past years' reports.

View Library

The Utility Advisory Board (UAB) reviews Water System rates, policies, and fees. The UAB then makes recommendations to the Grand Rapids City Commission. The Commission reviews these recommendations and approves and adopts them.

Each customer community has a seat on the UAB. While wholesale communities are not represented, they negotiate fair contracts with the City of Grand Rapids. For more about the UAB, check out the links below.

• UAB Meeting Schedule and Notices
• UAB Documents

All of our customer communities are represented on the Utility Advisory Board (UAB). These are the areas outside the Grand Rapids city limits that our Water System serves. Some of these communities are retail water customers , while others are wholesale water customers.

Ada Township

Wholesale Water and Sewer Customer

Cascade Township

Retail Water and Sewer Customer

City of East Grand Rapids

Wholesale Water and Sewer

City of Kentwood

Retail Water and Sewer

Tallmadge Township

Retail Water and Sewer

City of Walker

Retail Water and Sewer

Wright Township

Retail Sewer

Wholesale communities are not represented on the Utility Advisory Board (UAB). Instead, these municipalities negotiate a fair contract with the City of Grand Rapids. All of these communities are wholesale water customers .

Gaines Township

Wholesale Sewer

Ottawa County

Wholesale Water

2018 Water System Rate Study

The final 2018 Grand Rapids Water System Rate Study is now available.

View 2018 Study

Rate Study Library

We use a complex, but transparent, method to determine the rates for the Grand Rapids Water System. Changes to the rates are effective the 1st of each year, after a study, review and approval process. Users, customer communities and the City Commission are all involved in this process. Use the rate study library to find the current and past years' rate study results.

View Library

Want to learn more about water and lead service lines? Check out this short educational video from the American Water Work Association to learn more. 

Recent Testing

We are proud of the high-quality and safe drinking water that we provide our customers every day, and we take this responsibility very seriously. Our customers should be confident in the system’s water quality and safety.

We recently sampled the City water system’s Lake Michigan source water and tap water to parallel similar testing the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is conducting across the state. Our test results showed that our tap water concentration of PFOS and PFOA are well below the USEPA lifetime health advisory of 70 part per trillion (ppt) established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EGLE as well as regulatory limits being discussed.

our results

• PFAS testing results

Current PFAS Levels Regulation

Currently, there is no regulatory drinking water standard for PFAS chemicals. In May 2016, the USEPA established a non-regulatory lifetime health advisory (LHA) for two of these chemicals; PFOS and PFOA. The LHA for PFOS and PFOA is 70 ppt combined, or individually if only one of the chemical is present. The State of Michigan has adopted the 70 ppt combined limit as well. The State of Michigan and EPA have PFAS limits of 70 ppt.  There are other states and regulatory institutions that are recommending lower limits. We welcome this proactive approach sharing commitment to our community’s health. Check out the current and proposed recommendations here.

History of PFAS Testing in Grand Rapids vs. PFOS

As part of the Unregulated Contaminate Monitoring Rule, we tested for PFAS-related compounds on four occasions in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and the results were non-detect.

In 2018, and with improved test methods, we mirrored testing conducted by the state. Results were similar to that of the states.

In April of 2019, the State of Michigan began a statewide sampling and will be sampling all the surface water systems in the state for six consecutive months. We welcome this additional testing and will continue to post and track the results we receive them.

What are the differences in results between the EPA Method 537 & Isotope Dilution Method?

PFAS testing is in its infancy, and we are limited in what the laboratory equipment is able to detect. As testing methods continue to be developed, the reporting limits of these tests have improved. In previous testing using the EPA Method 537, the detection limits were in the 20 ppt to 30 ppt range. Detection limits are now as low as 2 ppt. As laboratories improve methods to better detect these compounds, we will continue to monitor our results and publish them.

What are the next steps?

Our test results showed what was expected: PFAS-related compounds have been in use around Lake Michigan for decades and a very small amount is present. We expect PFAS levels to remain relatively consistent since Lake Michigan is a stable source of water. We will continue to aggressively sample and test our water in accordance with state regulatory requirements and release our results. We also will continue to use the best available methods and technology in our water testing.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about our results, testing or anything related to your water, please contact 311 or (616) 456-3000.

For more on PFAS compounds, tests and other information, visit the State of Michigan’s PFAS Response Team.