MUSKEGON, MI – Sewer rates for Muskegon residents recently increased to help pay for a $24 million sewer upgrade and infrastructure improvement project slated to take place over the next 10 years.

City officials on Tuesday also approved the sale of $13.5 million in bonds to help pay for the first phase of the work.

The sewer rate increase, coupled with a 4 percent hike in the rate the city charges for drinking water, comes to about $1.35 for residents using an average of 5 hundred-cubic-feet (ccf) units of water each month, which is about 3,740 gallons, said Leo Evans, director of Musekgon Public Works. One ccf equals about 748 gallons of water.