5Bellaire’s village sewage plant

What the records show

From April 13 to April 20, 2026, after about 4.5 inches of rain on top of snowmelt, Lagoon #2 overflowed onto nearby land and swamp, and the plant pumped down Lagoon #3 to lower the levels. The village estimated the release at 10,557,000 gallons: “partially treated” and “not disinfected,” with “both land and water impacted” in the Intermediate River. The report says E. coli samples were “Not Taken as Required” and that the lagoons hadn’t kept their required 2 feet of freeboard (spare depth). As next steps, it says an investigation is needed into a suspected problem with groundwater and rainwater leaking into the village’s sewers.

• Six reports since April 2022 add up to about 52.5 million gallons: 13.08 million (April 2022, a lagoon at risk of failing), 4.50 million (Aug.–Sept. 2022), 6.56 million (Nov.–Dec. 2022), 13.94 million (April–June 2023), 3.91 million of “blended sewage” (March 2025), and 10.56 million (April 2026). In the August 2022, November 2022 and 2023 releases, the village reported the water had been through treatment but without the required two-week holding period or disinfection. The plant had no disinfection then; a UV system came with the recent upgrade.
• During the April 2026 release, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan asked Bellaire residents to cut water use and disconnect sump pumps, warned people not to enter or touch the affected water, and advised against fishing in, or eating fish from, Lake Bellaire and the surrounding area (reported April 16).
• State law requires the village to notify EGLE, the local health department and a daily newspaper “immediately, but not more than 24 hours after the discharge begins.” EGLE was told by phone on April 13. The village’s own report versions disagree on the others: the first version, filed April 13, lists the health department and a newspaper as notified that day; the final version lists April 24 and April 25.
• State law also requires E. coli testing of the affected waters after a discharge to surface water, unless the county health department waives it. The final report says E. coli samples were “Not Taken as Required.” It doesn’t say testing was waived (the health department did waive it for the March 2025 release).
• Under a 2023 state consent order, the village agreed to pay $4,739 in state costs and to file a corrective action plan, first due March 1, 2024. EGLE has granted four extension letters; the latest (May 14, 2026) moved the plan to June 1, 2026, and an asset management plan to Dec. 1, 2026. We did not find the corrective plan in the state’s public file as of Nov. 1.
• The lagoons were overhauled in 2025. During the work, the plant’s operator emailed EGLE (Aug. 21, 2025) that the construction was “short circuiting” the flow and hurting permit numbers, and on Sept. 24, 2025 that “our discharge numbers have reached a somewhat critical level” and the plant had stopped discharging. The village’s public works director reported the sewer pond project completed in December 2025.
• The final April report names the next step as an “investigation… to address a suspected I&I problem”: groundwater and rainwater getting into the sewers. In August 2026 a village trustee asked about inspecting homes for sump pumps and improper connections; the public works director said he hadn’t found a contractor interested. That month the council also raised the starting wage for the vacant plant superintendent job from $25 to $31 an hour.
• The village council’s posted minutes for April through October 2026 don’t mention the April release. The council’s Public Works committee did take it up indirectly on April 30, 2026: its minutes say that “with recent rainfall and flooding the sewer treatment plant was taking in a significantly larger amount of water,” blame suspected illegal sump-pump connections, and say the public works department planned to inspect properties.
• Who pays: on July 17, 2024, the council awarded a $3,364,228.19 contract for the plant upgrade to Grand Traverse Construction, on its engineer Gourdie-Fraser’s recommendation; approved a $4,000,000 sewer bond, repaid over 30 years at 2%; and raised sewer rates for what the minutes call the state-mandated project. The village’s budgets show the money came through Michigan’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $3,746,096 recorded as “State Grants- CWSRF Funds” and $3,766,555.23 spent on the “CWSRF Sewer Project,” noted as “Reimbursed through Monthly Loan Draws/ Project Complete.” The 2025–26 budget says sewer revenue rose “due to increase of sewer rates / CWSRF”; the 2026–27 budget says “no increase to fees this year.” A standby generator for the plant was “post-poned… wait until 2027,” and next to the $75,000 engineering line, the approved 2026–27 budget carries the note “Asset Management Plan- Aaron- Do you still need this?”
• Who runs it: in May 2024 the village was paying Operations Services $148,000 a year to operate the plant, and the council voted to hire its own licensed operator. Two years later the job is still open; in August 2026 the council raised the starting wage to $31 an hour. Also in May 2024, the council approved a $45,000 grant for an updated asset management plan. The state consent order separately requires an updated asset management plan, now due Dec. 1, 2026.
• A 2024 violation notice cited phosphorus discharges of 186 to 194 pounds a year against a 130-pound limit (May–Dec. 2023). The discharge permit expired Oct. 1, 2025; it is listed as “Extended,” and the renewal filed March 26, 2024 is “On Hold.” The state lists 213 violation entries; the newest (April–June 2026) are automatic flags not yet reviewed by staff.

Village of Bellaire reports of discharge, 2022–2026 (state file); Administrative Consent Order ACO-05873 (2023) and EGLE letter of May 14, 2026; operator emails to EGLE, Aug.–Sept. 2025; Village Council minutes, 2025–2026; Health Department of Northwest Michigan advisory (April 2026); MCL 324.3112a; EGLE MiEnviro, checked Nov. 1, 2026; Village Council minutes of May 1 and July 17, 2024; Public Works committee minutes of Jan. 15, 2025 and April 30, 2026; Village of Bellaire approved budgets, 2025–26 and 2026–27.