TRAVERSE CITY — Garfield Township will get an extra million gallons per day for its municipal water system as the township and Traverse City work through a dispute over their bulk water purchase agreement.
City commissioners on Monday unanimously approved bumping the township’s reserve capacity to 6 million gallons, up from 5 million. That should buy more time to work through other issues between city and township, city Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht said.
That request is down from the 3 million gallons per day the township originally requested, Trible-Laucht said. After sitting down with township officials and reviewing capacity of the city-owned plant that supplies Traverse City, Garfield and two other townships, township officials agreed to the smaller request.
City Manager Liz Vogel pointed out the plant’s 20-million-gallon capacity is largely spoken for, with the city reserving 10 million, Peninsula Township 1 million and Elmwood, 750,000 gallons. Add to that 2 million gallons of set-aside capacity for a total of 18.75 million, with water lines somewhat limiting how much the plant can pump to the system as well.
Increasing the township’s capacity buys time to work through other issues, Trible-Laucht said. They include an extension into Long Lake Township that both city and township agreed wasn’t approved through a proper process, and fixing water pressure issues at Grand Traverse Commons and Historic Barns Park.
“There’s a lot of topics that kind of come together to push this conversation forward, and we’re moving it forward now so that’s a good thing,” she said.
Fixing low water pressure is a more urgent concern as the Traverse City Garfield Township Joint Recreation Authority prepares to redevelop one of the barns at Historic Barns Park, Trible-Laucht said. Water pressure levels are low enough to threaten the project’s funding if it can’t receive a certificate of occupancy.
Garfield officials agreed to sign off on a permit application to boost water pressure at the park and across Grand Traverse Commons, with the township suggesting taking over water service there, Trible-Laucht said. It wouldn’t be the only property on the boundary between city and township where Garfield provides water to a city property, or vice-versa.
Issues between city and township came to a head in April 2024 when Trible-Laucht responded to then-township Supervisor Chuck Korn’s request to renegotiate the water purchase agreement by pointing out items needing addressing, including the extension to Long Lake Township and various permits to connect to Garfield’s system that were approved without the city’s input, as previously reported.
Vogel said city officials agreed to release four connection permits for Garfield Township projects that had been on hold.
“I think when you come to the table to meet with folks you should always try to start with where do we agree, where can we find agreement,” she said.
There’s some work to do, including coming up with an agreement to keep serving the neighborhood in Long Lake Township, Trible-Laucht said. She added she believes the parties can work out a solution.
Looking ahead, both city and township also need to consider which is best positioned to serve Grand Traverse Commons, as well as keep an eye on new water meters measuring how much flows daily from city to township, Vogel said.
Those meters should clear up how much water Garfield is actually using, and should be completely installed by spring, Trible-Laucht said.
Flow data could answer a question Garfield officials previously raised when Trible-Laucht pointed out in 2024 that the township had exceeded its 5-million-gallon capacity at various points over the years, as previously reported. Township officials argued the Grand Traverse County Department of Public Works, which oversees city-township water and sewer agreements, was using the wrong peaking factor to calculate flows.
Garfield Township is also considering building more storage, which would curb the amount of water the township would have to pump from the city plant on peak-use days, typically in summer, Trible-Laucht said Monday.
City and township will also have to define the terms of a new water purchase contract before the current one expires, Vogel said — Trible-Laucht told commissioners Elmwood and Peninsula’s contracts both expire in 2029, so the topic won’t be going away.
Joe McManus, Garfield Township supervisor, noted the contract is in its 23rd year. It’s served well having gotten this far without having to negotiate for more water, but the township has been nearing the 5-million-gallon cutoff for some time.
Increasing the township’s capacity should get both city and Garfield through 2028, the last year of the contract, McManus said. Ultimately, both governments need to start looking further ahead — twenty years ahead, not three.
McManus agreed both city and township officials have made great progress in recent meetings. Communication was lacking for too long, and he believes both sides now understand the others’ position better.
“That’s the biggest thing, that the city and Garfield have to work together,” he said.