QUINNESEC — The Breitung Township Board on Monday approved a small rise in water rates that would begin Jan. 1 to help meet state lead and copper requirements.

The adjustment, recommended by the Breitung Township Water and Sewer Board, included a 2.4 percent cost-of-living increase as well as an extra $1 per 1,000 gallons for Quinnesec and East Kingsford residents. The East Kingsford commercial system would only have the cost-of-living adjustment.

Quinnesec residential rates will rise from $3.59 to $4.68. East Kingsford rates will rise from $7.61 to $8.79.

“We’ve got to add some money to the enterprise fund,” Trustee David Soderbloom said, adding the money would only be “a drop in the bucket” compared with the cost of compliance with Michigan’s lead and copper rules.

Finalized June 2018 after unsafe lead levels were found to have leached from pipes into Flint drinking water, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy rules aim to reduce heavy metals in water by mandating lead service lines be replaced by 2040, among other things.

While Breitung Township does not have lead service lines, specific lines do have lead gooseneck pipes — a short, flexible pipe that connects lines to water mains.

The board previously had come out against the new rules, which they said would cost the municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to come into compliance.

In other business, the board:

— Waived refuse bills for residents who qualify for and have a poverty exemption on their property taxes.

— Discontinued a flexible spending account program that allowed employees to use pre-taxed money for health care expenses, due to high cost and lack of participation.

— Renewed general property and liability insurance with the Michigan Municipal League at a premium of $32,959, a 2.5 percent increase from 2018.