GLWA’s Board of Directors approves engineering firms & legal representation recommended by Ad Hoc Committee, July 28, 2021

At its meeting on July 28, 2021, the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) Board of Directors voted to approve the Ad Hoc Committee-recommended engineering and legal firms to conduct an independent and transparent review of the rain events of June 25-26, 2021, and July 16, 2021. The selected engineering firms are AECOM, a global infrastructure consulting firm, with support from Applied Science Inc. (ASI), a consulting engineering firm with a national reputation in providing services on water resources projects. Attorney Jeffrey Collins, of the firm Collins & Collins PC, has been selected as legal representation. 

AECOM and ASI were selected for their deep sector and technical knowledge and experience, experience in evaluating intense rain events and basement flooding, as well as their understanding of the complexity of GLWA’s regional system operations. Attorney Collins was selected by the Ad Hoc Committee based on his professional experience in managing reviews. Attorney Collins is a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and former appellate judge. He has also written a book on ethics. 

All parties are committed to conducting a fair and full investigation.

The independent investigation will begin immediately, and it is expected that it will take 60-90 days to complete. The scope of the review will assess the operational challenges and power supply concerns related to GLWA’s Freud, Conners Creek, Blue Hill, and Fairview Pump Stations related to the events on June 25-26, 2021, and July 16, 2021. The Ad Hoc Committee will evaluate any preliminary findings and assess what may be shared publicly as the review is underway. Findings will focus on the root cause analysis of the pumps and electrical system, electrical power redundancy, an assessment of the entire wastewater system to inform long-term planning and investments to ensure system resiliency for future wet weather events, as well as recommendation for near, intermediate and long-term operational and infrastructure improvements and options for funding for these. 

On July 14, 2021, GLWA’s Board of Directors formed an Ad Hoc Committee which includes John Zech, the Board representative appointed by Wayne County, Brian Baker, the Board representative appointed by Macomb County and Gary Brown, one of the two Board representatives appointed by the city of Detroit.