John A. DeKam, superintendent of Bay City's Water Treatment Plant, says a strange thing happens when the price of fuel goes up: So does the cost of providing clean water.

City officials say the price of chemicals used to treat the city's drinking water have more than doubled this year, the result of increases in fuel costs for transportation and chemical processing.

The city budgeted $305,000 for water treatment chemicals for the fiscal year that began July 1, but DeKam reported this week that those expenditures are going to be more than $610,000 based on recent bid prices.

"It was quite a surprise to us," DeKam said, though he assures residents that the city will do whatever it takes to provide clean water.

City commissioners this week voted 9-0 to make budget adjustments to cover the increased costs, dipping into the city's Water Fund Balance. They say residents' water rates will not go up again - they just did July 1 - but they will in the future if chemical prices don't come down.

DeKam said prices typically increase 3-5 percent most years, but this year the price of ferric sulfate increased 148 percent, fluoride is up 72 percent and chlorine increased 5 percent. He said other cities are seeing similar increases.

Bay City uses several other chemicals in its water treatment process, including lime, polymers and potassium permanganate.

DeKam said the city doesn't necessarily use more chemicals than the average water plant, but it may use more than plants that get their water from cleaner sources like Lake Superior. Bay City draws its water from the Saginaw Bay through a four-mile-long, 4-foot-diameter intake pipe before putting it through a treatment process.

The city just released its 2008 Water Quality Report, saying its primary goal is to deliver safe drinking water to more than 90,000 customers. The report contains information about what contaminants are found in city water.

"We have a theme this year, 'Only Tap Water Delivers,'" said DeKam, who maintains that he drinks the city's water "without fear."

According to the report, Bay City's tap water meets or surpasses all federal and state standards. However, the state Department of Environmental Quality rates Bay City's source water as "Highly Sensitive and Highly Susceptible" to potential contaminants.

Full Story: http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/07/price_to_treat_drinking
_water.html

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