KENT COUNTY, MI - Plainfield Township is restructuring its water rates and billing system starting in 2026, a move township leaders say is intended to address a strained water system.

In addition to a move from quarterly to monthly billing, the township will change to a tiered water rate system, meaning customers who regularly use more water will see higher, usage-based rates.

The new rate structure was approved by the Plainfield Township Board of Trustees during its Oct. 13 meeting.

The township website says households using less than 12,000 gallons per quarter, or about 4,000 gallons per month, will see bills increase by only about 1% in the first year.

PlainfieldTownship Supervisor Cameron Van Wyngarden said while there are increased water delivery costs across the board, the changes are mainly due to a water use issue - particularly during the summer months.

He said the township's water plant can treat up to 16 million gallons of water a day if it runs around the clock and there are no extenuating circumstances causing stoppages. He described that 16 million gallons as the "absolute maximum."

"This summer, we were producing between 11 and 12 million gallons a day on a regular basis," he said, "and that's starting to put some strain on our ability to meet that demand."

With an average in the winter months of closer to three or four million gallons a day, Van Wyngarden said most of the significant summer increase is being attributed to outdoor use, like irrigation, landscaping, gardening and pools.

Around 28% of residential, single-family customers in Plainfield Township use four times more water in summer than in winter, according to the township's website.

In addition to higher summer water use, Van Wyngarden said the township has also struggled with water capacity since losing one-third of its wells due to contamination from PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

PFAS was first discovered in the township's water supply in 2013, and the contaminated well field was shut down in 2015.

"It's been a decade now that we've been without it," Van Wyngarden said.

To try and encourage water conservation while the township looks for a long-term replacement, a tiered system will ramp up rates for customers who use the most water.

"That's really intended to place a little bit more pressure on the real high users to be conscientious of how much water they're using," he said, "because our baseline usage throughout the years is not the problem. If we can continue to see our winter usage, even with some moderate growth, we have enough capacity in our system to meet that need for decades and decades to come.

"It's the peak use that's the problem," Van Wyngarden added.

The first tier is for users who consume zero to 2,000 gallons, he said, with the second tier from 2,000 to 4,000 gallons and the third tier anything more than that.

"So everyone pays the same rate for the first 2,000 gallons. (They) pay a slightly higher rate for the next 2,000 gallons. And then it goes up from there."

Customers who want to see how their bill could change can use an online water bill estimate tool. More information on the rates can be found here.

During the Oct. 13 meeting where rate changes were made official, some residents pushed back.

Plainfield Township resident Jeannette Johnson said they've been working in the government and nonprofit sector for many years and have lived in the township since childhood, and doesn't think the water rate structure is "appropriate or fair."

"I think the rates should stay the same," Johnson said. "I think you guys should listen to the township and not change your water structure."

Terrence Wilks of Grand Rapids said rates have risen "consistently over the years." He said the new system would unfairly benefit those without homes, lawns, landscaping, plants and gardens.

"If that's part of the issue as to why usage has gone up, perhaps this body should have taken that into consideration when allowing developers to develop the land," Wilks said. "That should have been a cost passed onto them."

Some who spoke said they believe the rate change should be placed on the ballot to allow voters a say. Others said they felt the new system unfairly penalizes large families.

The second of the two changes - from quarterly to monthly billing - is intended to give Plainfield Township customers a better idea of how much water they're actually using. The hope is to cut down consumption.

"When you have a quarterly bill, you might not get your water bill for the summer months until September," Van Wyngarden said, "when it's really too late to make a change."

The change will take full effect in January 2026. In December, customers will receive a "transition bill" for their usage through November 2025 and base fees through the end of December.

While the water rate restructuring is one more immediate approach, Van Wyngarden said the township is also looking at increasing its well field capacity as a more permanent solution.

Plainfield Township has added two wells, he said, but they can't produce nearly as much as the wells that were lost.

"We are looking at other options to just draw more water out of existing wells and increase that capacity to bring us back to a full 16 million gallons, which would give us a little bit more cushion near term," he said. "But then we are also exploring what is our long-term option, because this is not a long-term option."

Van Wyngarden said the township's engineers are working on a detailed study, which will likely be presented after the first of the year, which can outline some options.

Those include finding another well field relatively close to the water treatment plan, which would limit costs incurred by pumping water from further away.

"Unfortunately, we're not finding any good areas close to the plant that can both produce enough water and produce clean water," he said. "That's the real challenge with PFAS and other contaminants in the area, where we understand that our community has a high sensitivity to our contamination and we want to ensure that we find the highest quality of water."

The next step is to look further out or "get even more creative," Van Wyngarden said, possibly looking at ways to combine resources with other water systems or separating out part of the system and running it off a different water source.

Each of those options comes with its own unique set of challenges, whether engineering or cost, he said. Even simple things like changing a water source could have a strong impact on a system and on overall cost for consumers.

Expanding the township's water plant, for example, could come with an estimated price tag of between $50 and $60 million by 2035, he said, and contamination settlement funds don't leave spare dollars for an expansion.

Van Wyngarden also used the example of connecting to the city of Grand Rapids' water system, which he said sounds like an easy fix. But because the city uses water from Lake Michigan, and the township uses groundwater, it becomes more complicated.

"The water chemistry is different enough that it would immediately cause problems within our water system," he said. "If you introduce a soft water, all of a sudden that water is going to react with the materials that have been building up over the years in the pipes, and basically it will create a lot of water clogs, all of a sudden everyone's water heaters are going to have to be replaced."

Without a thought-out solution, he said it could result in a tremendous cost for the system and the customer.