Flushing Stimulus Money Into the Sewer

LANSING, Mich.—As we rode into town, our dulcet-challenged GPS lady got testy when we were forced to turn off route. In front of us stood very loud, very bold “Road Closed” signs and a fresh hole in the ground. We had run into Lansing’s sewer modernization project, and it was pretty impossible not to. Right in the middle of town, the earthmovers were slowly moving up Allegan St., choking a central artery.

The two blocks of sewer retrofit cost $3.4 million, part of the stimulus’ $10.5 million contribution to Lansing’s sewer project this year. Because of the Clean Water Act, Lansing has been legally mandated to clean up its sewer system, which now tosses rain water in with sewage and then dumps it out into a river. That’s less than ideal. So they’ve been trudging away at a 30-year, more than $500 billion million plan to bring the sewer system in line with federal code. This year they almost couldn’t afford to keep the project going, which would have cost them a $25,000 fine. But when you can’t afford to spend several million, $25,000 isn’t that bad. “The lesser of two evils,” as Chad, the city engineer who showed us around, told me.

Of course next year the stimulus money probably won’t be making a repeat appearance. And that’s a problem for Lansing. They need to spend $25 million next year, $283 million over the next 11. Chad is worried that the city won’t be able to spend the money, risking a slap on the wrist from the feds. Another alternative is to raise the sewer fees, a tenuous prospect at best. So Lansing continues to scrape for funds to fulfill an unfunded mandate. For a fleeting moment, there were monies to dredge up. Next year, it’s back to the bottom of the barrel.

(Photos by David Backer)

This post originally misstated that the total sewer expenditure was $500 billion. It is $500 million.