Ann Arbor Water Strategic Plan Approved

Archived News Release: February 28, 2024 - ​

On February 20, 2024 City Council approved Ann Arbor Water’s Strategic Plan. Ann Arbor Water is currently undertaking a Capital Improvement Project at the Ann Arbor Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to address aging infrastructure and contaminants of concern. The Water Treatment Plan (WTP) Facility Plan has been underway for over a year to plan the replacement of the oldest portions of the WTP constructed in 1938 and 1949, and address raw water contaminants of concern including PFAS and 1,4 dioxane.

The Facility Plan included, among other things, development of a strategic plan and in December, 2023, staff presented a draft of the strategic plan to City Council. The December Council work session included an overview presentation of the robust community engagement efforts that served as the foundation of the strategic plan. Community Engagement efforts included attending events, public meetings, project website, articles and videos, focus groups and city wide surveys, in total interacting with an estimated 24,000 customers. Comprehensive and inclusive community engagements and input from major stakeholders formed the basis for the Strategic Plan’s guiding principles. Major stakeholders involved in this effort included the city’s Executive Leadership Team, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Township, Scio Township, Ann Arbor Public Schools, the Equitable Engagement Steering Committee, community organizations for historically underrepresented groups, the Huron River Watershed Council, and WTP core staff. The resulting guiding principles included Trust, Community, Accountability, Sustainability, and Knowledge. The guiding principles were then used to formulate the aspirational goals that included, but are not limited to, areas of focus such as: 

• Source water protection.
• Equity and affordability.
• Reliability and resiliency.
• Climate change.
• Public engagement. ​