Jonesville’s $3.035 Million Lead-Service-Line Project Advances in Michigan’s 2027 Water Plan
Jonesville is listed in Michigan’s July 2026 draft fiscal-year 2027 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund plan for a lead-service-line replacement project totaling up to $3.035 million. The listing moves the city’s financing request into the state’s draft priority plan, but it does not guarantee that the money will be awarded or establish when construction will begin.
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy identifies the project as City of Jonesville project 7992-01 on the draft lead-service-line-replacement priority list. The table lists a $3,035,000 maximum award, including $2,731,500 in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law lead-service-line-replacement loan financing and $303,500 in state lead-service-line-replacement grant support.
What EGLE’s draft lists
The draft table lists Jonesville with a total project score of 21 and median annual household income of $65,200. Its disadvantaged-status field is marked “N/A”; the plan’s allocation discussion places Jonesville among the non-disadvantaged applicants receiving the state LSLR grant allocation.
The listed $3,035,000 is a maximum amount in a draft priority plan, not a final grant, closed loan or secured financing package. EGLE says priority-list inclusion means an applicant submitted a project plan that was scored and ranked. The agency also states that inclusion carries no actual or implied guarantee of financial assistance. A binding commitment depends on completion of program requirements and issuance of applicable permits.
Why Jonesville sought the funding
Jonesville’s Capital Improvement Plan identifies a local service-line inventory behind the request. Material inspections by the city’s Department of Public Works and HydroCorp while installing water meters identified 268 iron services that the plan says would need replacement. The same document says additional services could be identified through field inspections.
The city’s planning document ties replacement work to Michigan and federal lead-and-copper requirements. It says an iron water service that was previously connected to a lead gooseneck must be replaced with a new copper service at the city’s expense in affected residential houses and businesses. That description does not establish that every iron or galvanized line contains lead, and the reviewed records do not identify every property that may eventually receive work.
The Capital Improvement Plan budgets $145,000 annually for water-service replacements from fiscal year 2025-26 through fiscal year 2030-31. It estimates individual replacement costs at roughly $6,500 to $8,000. A separate planning calculation uses 22 services per year at $6,600 each. The city says larger phases could reduce costs through economies of scale.
Local planning and financing background
The city also reports receiving an EGLE Technical, Managerial, and Financial grant of just under $300,000. The planning document says the grant supported service-line material identification, public education and development of a financing plan for private water-service replacements. It also says some replacements had already occurred during earlier street projects.
On March 19, 2025, the Jonesville City Council considered and adopted Resolution 2025-07, supporting an appropriation request for service-line replacements and water-system improvements. The resolution described compliance costs as a substantial financial burden for residents and businesses and supported pursuing outside funding. That 2025 action documents the city’s policy support for funding requests; it does not show that the FY2027 DWSRF financing has closed.
What the listing means for residents and businesses
The reviewed records do not provide a confirmed property-by-property work list, construction schedule, customer bill impact or construction start date. The state listing indicates that Jonesville is positioned to seek funding for future replacement work, not that work has been approved for a particular address.
For affected homeowners and businesses, the city’s planning document says the city bears the replacement cost when the applicable service-line requirements are triggered. The draft state listing alone does not establish which properties qualify, when a particular service will be inspected or replaced, or whether residents will see a direct charge connected to this proposed project.
What still must happen
EGLE’s process calls for the draft priority list and Intended Use Plan to move through public review before a final IUP is published. The applicant guide says draft documents are published in summer, public hearings are scheduled in September and the final IUP for both state revolving-fund programs is expected by October.
Additional steps include a project milestone schedule, environmental assessment and required finding, technical review and approval of planning documents, plans and specifications, financial applications, bid advertisement and review, local action after a public meeting or hearing, loan approval and closing. Under EGLE’s guide, the construction contract and notice to proceed follow loan closing, generally within 60 days under the project schedule.
For Jonesville, the draft state listing marks a move from local inventory and budgeting into a proposed state financing plan. Final funding, property-specific decisions and construction authorization remain pending.
Sources
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