The City owns and operates six drinking-water-production wells that range in depths from 260 to 560 feet, each with a pumping capacity of approximately 1,000 gallons per minute. Three reservoirs store a total of 1,700,000 gallons of water. The Department of Public Works maintains approximately 60 miles of water-transmission and water-distribution pipelines. In 2010, 599,519,000 gallons of water were produced for 3,356 customers, some of whom were in Bear Creek and Resort Townships. Water-utility costs for 2010 have been budgeted at $2,114,500, with revenues estimated at $1,941,000.
From a network of approximately 50 miles of collection pipelines, which also includes 22 lift-pump stations, the Department of Public Works treated 475,965,000 gallons of wastewater in 2010 at a certified secondary-stage reclamation plant that has a capacity of 2,500,000 gallons per day. The Department treats wastewater for 3,204 customers within and near the City and is the treatment contractor for the neighboring Springvale-Bear Creek Sewage Disposal Authority that has 500 customers. Sewer-system costs, budgeted at $2,591,700 for 2010, would be offset by $2,401,400 in revenues. Treated wastewater from the City's reclamation plant is discharged into Lake Michigan, and treated stabilized biosolids are land applied on area farm fields as fertilizer.