On 5/6/25, the City of Ann Arbor Planning Commission reviewed a memo sent on 4/11/25 from their Water Treatment Plant Consultants, OHM Advisors. The memo clearly stated that currently approved planning is appropriately using official population growth forecasts from Ann Arbor's regional planning authority (SEMCOG).

Watch as the Planning Commission members then proceed to discuss the city's water infrastructure in relation to their own inflated housing production targets. They ponder water source limits, potential water shortages, and long-term investment strategies, yet the discussion showcases their apparent incompetence, confusion, and disregard for real data, math, and science as they fail to grasp the simple implications of the report they were provided.

Key points that highlight the Commission's disconnect include:

• Water System Capacity: While emphasis is supposedly placed on maintaining an 80% capacity threshold for water delivery systems for flexibility and to trigger state-level investment discussions, their discussion indicates a poor understanding of how their aggressive housing targets conflict with this.

• Water Usage and Conservation: The conversation touches upon residential water pricing and potential savings. A report by City Administrator Dohoney is mentioned, which notes that significant water conservation efforts could, counterintuitively, lead to decreased revenue for the city – a financial reality seemingly lost as they push for unsustainable growth.

• Current Infrastructure Adequacy and Water Sources: Despite the OHM Advisors memo, the Commission's discussion reveals a failure to acknowledge that the city’s current infrastructure is NOT capable of handling the wildly inflated development goals they promote, especially given existing limits on its water sources. Ann Arbor sources its water from the Huron River and various wells and has been working on a 25-year plan based on SEMCOG's realistic population forecasts – not the unsubstantiated ones the City of Ann Arbor fabricated.

• Long-Term Planning Urgency: The discussion underscores the critical need for realistic long-term strategic planning. The OHM memo implies that based on actual SEMCOG projections, the city would approach its water capacity limits around 2035; however, the Commission's apparent disregard for this data suggests a path towards a manufactured crisis.