Instead of potentially selling municipal water in bulk to outside parties in order to help fund the Oxford Village system, Councilman Erik Dolan has another idea – combine the village and township water systems.

Last week, he suggested disbanding the bulk water sales committee, formed in August 2016, and reconstituting it as a committee to explore system consolidation and “see if that’s a viable option for us.”

“We need to create some sort of long-term remedy (to keep the water system funded), again, not a bandage,” Dolan said.

Village and township water customers are served by separate systems, each with its own wells, treatment plants and storage towers. Village water is softened, while township water is not.

Following the council meeting, Dolan sent an e-mail to Interim Village Manager Evan Teich requesting he draft a resolution for the Sept. 12 meeting to form a consolidation committee.

Dolan wrote the committee’s purpose would be to – 1) “Gauge” the township’s interest in “jointly studying” this topic; 2) “Determine if a joint operation” could “lead to desirable economic efficiencies without adversely impacting (the) staffing levels of either organization”; 3) “Determine (the) short-term costs associated with consolidation and project long-term savings”; and 4) “Assess the infrastructure needs that would be required for such a joint venture.”

The bulk water sales committee is one of three committees council tasked with finding new revenue streams to shore up the village’s water fund and stave off having to increase water rates, something the municipality has not done since October 2014.

“There’s no specific proposal currently before this council with respect to the sale of water,” explained village attorney Bob Davis. “It was simply an area of study that the council appointed (a committee) to bring back information . . . There is no specific proposal that’s under consideration.”

Dolan made his suggestion after council received some information regarding the village and township systems.

One of the things that Dolan found “quite striking” was the significant decrease in water consumption by village customers.

According to the July 2017 water report, the average daily flow from the village treatment plant was 511,074 gallons, which is 48,842 gallons less than it was in July 2016.

While there’s been lots of discussion about local businesses and schools switching over from village water to the township system, resulting in decreased consumption, Dolan believes that overlooks what’s going on when it comes to the average village resident’s home and habits.

“We’re not taking a look at the reality that nowadays every home has high-efficiency appliances. People are reducing the watering of their grass due to the increased expense,” he said.

Davis agreed with Dolan on this point.

“Water consumption in Oakland County, in general, is down due to some of the reasons you mentioned,” he said.

Davis noted the Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority, which serves 13 communities, “is down by 24 percent in water sales thus far this year.”

“The average household is not using as much water,” he said. “(Consumption) is down and it’s going to continue to decline.”

To Dolan, simply selling water to outside parties is not going to make up for this “diminished daily demand.”

“The concept of bulk water sales is literally a drop in the bucket, so to speak,” he said.

Dolan made it clear he is opposed to the idea of bulk sales.

“I personally do not support commoditizing the most valuable natural resource,” he said. “If someone were to propose selling off the Great Lakes, there would be a huge outcry. Well, our water table is our Great Lakes, so to me, it’s one and the same.”

Councilman Tom Kennis agreed with Dolan that the village “should talk with the township” and that village water shouldn’t be treated as a “commodity.”

However, he does believe that “all avenues” should be explored because the village water system is “bleeding” financially.

“It’s not like we’re going to get any huge businesses coming in here, utilizing a million gallons a year (in) water to help support all of our costs,” Kennis said.

Councilman Dave Bailey indicated he’s not “automatically” for or against the concept of bulk water sales.

“If there is a proposal regarding (the) sale of bulk water, I will read every word I can get on the topic,” he said. “I will vote yes or no (based) on the merits.”

“I believe that the bulk water issue may be more complicated than we now perceive,” Bailey added.

Davis suggested the water issue would be a great discussion topic for one of council’s work sessions.

“A lot of ideas are formulated when we kick these issues around,” he said.

These meetings are used by council to study and discuss various issues, but no action is ever taken (i.e. there is no voting). The meetings are always posted, as required by the Open Meetings Act, and open to the public.

Bailey encouraged those interested in the water issue to sit in on these sessions.

“Work-study sessions are well worth attending,” he said. “Even though we know that there’s not going to be any votes taken, arguably, the work-study meetings of council are where the decisions really take place. They take place in the minds of the five of us.”

Bailey’s comments prompted Davis to clarify the nature of these meetings.

“There are no official decisions made at any work session meetings,” he said. They’re only made at “an agenda-driven council meeting.”

Davis stressed the public is welcome to attend work sessions. “And your input would be received,” he said.