On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the Mount Clemens City Commission approved water and sewer rate increases. Upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant are among the reasons for the increases.
By: Dean Vaglia | Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal | Published September 17, 2025
MOUNT CLEMENS — Another year, another water rate increase.
Mount Clemens city commissioners approved increases to the city’s retail water rates on Sept. 2, as well as increases for wholesale water to surrounding communities and institutions.
With the standard service unit being per 100 cubic feet of water used, the per-unit consumption charge for water is $6.04 — an increase from $5.79 — while the per-unit consumption charge for sewage is $7.36 — an increase from $7.15. The fixed service charge for water remains at $11.10 while the sewage fixed service charge increases to $10.35 from $9.22. The city estimates this increases residential water bills $2.28 a month based on an estimated 2.5-unit monthly consumption.
“We have a lot of projects that we’re working on, a lot of infrastructure needs,” City Commissioner Spencer Calhoun said. “None of us want to raise water rates. We understand how difficult it is for residents and businesses, but there’s no other way for us to get this work done. With the infrastructure needs we have, I have to vote yes on this because of that.”
The rate increases come as the city undergoes a series of capital projects related to water infrastructure. Already in the process of performing capital projects to facilitate the city’s tie-in to the Great Lakes Water Authority system in the future, other planned projects include replacing water and sewer mains, upgrading pump stations and more. Later in the meeting, commissioners discussed a $46,000 purchases and payments item related to one project underway: engineering services for upgrading the wastewater treatment plant’s biosolids drying capabilities.
“It turns out that there are many different options and ways to (handle biosolids) so you need to find the one that works best for your plant and our setup,” City Manager Gregg Shipman said. “So, we thought that the next reasonable step is to go in and have a study done and decide what is the best option for us going forward.”
Wholesale water rates for Clinton Township and Harrison Township were increased to $62.78 and $57.06 from $60.21 and $54.72, respectively. Selfridge Air National Guard Base’s wholesale rate remains $45.91.
Homeless complaints
The owners of Your Mothers Food and Spirits spoke during the meeting’s public comment period to make the commission aware of issues they were having with homeless people in the city causing incidents in the downtown. Co-owner Eric Super said people have been assaulting each other and reliving themselves in Rotary Park, which connects Walnut Street to Main Street.
City commissioners expressed a desire to have a meeting with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office sometime in the coming weeks about the matter.