MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Lake St. Clair provides much of Metro Detroit’s drinking water.
Because of the aging infrastructure, Lake St. Clair also becomes a catch basin for sewer runoff when big storms hit. In Macomb County, officials have decided they’re going to spend millions of dollars to address that.
When Michigan has a major rain storm and we get flooding in basements, what happens is that stormwater runoff and partially treated sewage builds up in an area. When there is too much water coming in, at some point something’s got to give. To prevent basements from flooding, they open canal gates and send the excess water into Lake Saint Clair.
It’s a practice Macomb County drain commissioner Candice Miller wants to see end. Miller and other county leaders are spending $30 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars to build a new retention area. It will increase stormwater storage by nearly 50%, to 43 million gallons. They’re also replacing the spillway doors.
They also plan on spending another $16 million on new backup generators to protect against power outages and a giant, inflatable rubber weir in a major storm drain that will allow them to constrict stormwater flow into the Chapaton Street Pump Station located at 9 Mile Road in St. Clair Shores.
St. Clair Shores mayor Kip Walby said these are bipartisan projects.
“This is how government should work, right? We come together in the right fashion for the right projects and at the end of the day, we’re going to help the people who use this lake. I applaud that,” Walby said.
Macomb County officials said Oakland and Wayne counties also put treated sewage into Lake Saint Clair. Oakland County officials hope to inspire change in other counties.
Construction at the Chapaton Street Pump Station is expected to take two years to complete and is expected to reduce combined sewer outflows by 70% to 80%, with the added bonus of reducing the possibility of basement flooding as well.
---> Crews repairing Macomb County sewer to prevent pipe from collapsing, creating sinkhole