PW_BiannualReportVol1_26

MACOMB COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS 2026 BI-ANNUAL REPORT VOL. 1

Commissioner Candice S. Miller, St. Clair Shores Councilmen Ron Frederick & Dave Rubello and State Senator Kevin Hertel at Chapaton Canal Expansion Opening

CANDICE S. MILLER COMMISSIONER

The Macomb County Public Works Office The MCPWO administers 475 county drains that prevent flooding in our communities. Some of these drains are open streams or creeks, while others are massive underground structures that carry stormwater away from neighborhoods and businesses. Given our responsibility for these waterways, we are actively engaged in numerous initiatives to enhance the overall water quality in our lakes and rivers, most notably the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair. In addition, we operate 68 miles of sanitary sewer interceptors which transport waste for more than 800,000 residents and businesses to the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) for proper treatment.

Key Goals Reducing Combined Sewer Overflows Preventing billions of gallons of CSOs from entering Lake St. Clair

Reduce Flooding MCPWO inspects, maintains and improves hundreds of miles of county drains

No More Sinkholes!

Completing sewer rehabilitation & CSO reduction projects

Economic Prosperity MCPWO approves all stormwater projects through our Permit & Plan Review Portal available online 24/7

Our Mission Improve water quality Reducing the frequency and volume of combined sewer overflows; clearing logjams and debris from open channels to ensure proper flow of stormwater and reduce sediment buildup.

Improve the quality of life for our residents Safeguarding Lake St. Clair as our drinking water source and for recreation; maintaining networks of creeks, streams and rivers to reduce flooding, and helping the environment for humans and wildlife.

Serve as a critical component of economic prosperity Engineering and inspection review of all land development and redevelopment plans impacting the county’s 475 drains to ensure proper stormwater drainage and to reduce risk of flooding.

Commissioner’s Message Dear Neighbors, When it comes to safeguarding our waterways, Macomb County is leading by example. Whether we’re inspecting and maintaining or upgrading our critical underground infrastructure, implementing new and cost-efficient technologies, or increasing funding partnerships with individual communities to remove logjams and debris in open channel drains to ensure proper flow and reduce flooding, the projects and activities directed by the Macomb County Public Works Office are essential to protect water quality.

Water quality equals quality of life. Improving both, and being a key component of economic prosperity, is our department’s mission. It truly takes a team effort, and our dedicated staff members are laser focused week in, week out.

I’m confident that our major projects, individually and collectively – such as reducing our combined sewer overflows into Lake St. Clair by 75% -- will become a model for other counties in southeast Michigan to follow.

Kicking the can down the road jeopardizes the environment and unfairly puts a riskier and costlier burden on our children, grandchildren and future generations. Fortunately, elected leaders representing Macomb County at various levels of government have shown they have the political will to do what’s necessary to improve stormwater and sanitary sewage systems and processes that safeguard our waterways.

We applaud residents who do their part by doing such things as extend downspouts away from their homes; install a rain barrel; sweep fertilizer granules from curbs, driveways and sidewalks onto lawns; and not dumping grass clippings and leaves into neighborhood creeks and streams. Indeed, it takes a village. A wide regional one, across and far beyond our county’s borders. As the Great Lakes State, it’s our duty.

This bi-annual report highlights some of our latest projects and activities. For more information, visit the Public Works page at macombgov.org or use the QR code on this page. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

M

NO MORE SINKHOLES Relining of a 4,430-foot section of the 15 Mile Interceptor – between Groesbeck Highway to just west of Kelly Road -- was completed in January 2026 ahead of schedule and under budget. Inspection of the pipe further east, past Gratiot Avenue, has shown a significant increase in the rate of deterioration of the concrete pipe over the last five years.

To address the issue, construction has commenced to line an additional 8,500-foot stretch of the interceptor, which is part of the Macomb Interceptor Drain.

“The degradation of the interior of the pipe, caused by corrosive sewer gases, has accelerated in recent years to the point that rebar, the steel rods that reinforce the strength of concrete, are visible. Allowing those conditions to linger without vital maintenance would eventually lead to severe infiltration of dirt and groundwater, a collapse and a major sinkhole,” Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said.

Spiral wound lining

MCPWO Award Winning Projects The Macomb County Public Works Office continues to earn awards for innovations and excellence. Those include awards from the American Public Works Association, the Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners, the National Association of Counties, and the American Council of Engineering Companies.

“We’re always happy and proud to be recognized by our peers, civil engineering associations or other groups,” said Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller, “but the real winners are the people who reside, work or recreate in Macomb County, and visitors.”

APWA Michigan Chapter​ 2025 Project of the Year​ Combining AI and Drone Inspections​

AAPWA Michigan Chapter​ 2024 Project of the Year​ Macomb Interceptor Drain “Spiral Wound” Rehabilitation

NACo Achievement Award​ NACo Achievement Award​NACo Achievement Award​ Reducing Combined Combining AI and Drone Digitization Improves Sewer Overflows by 75% for Sewer Inspections Service, Efficiency

MACDC​ 2025 Innovation and Excellence Award​ Combining AI and Drone Inspections​

ACEC​2025 Honorable Conceptor Award ​ Spiral Wound Sewer Lining

ACEC​2025 Honorable Conceptor Award Segment 6 Rehabilitation

ACEC​2026 Honorable Conceptor Award​ Chapaton RTB Canal Rehabilitation

ACEC​2026 Honorable Conceptor Award​ 8.5 Mile In-System Storage

ACEC​2026 Honorable Conceptor Award​ MIDD Odor & Corrosion

ACEC​2026 Honorable Conceptor Award​ OMID Liner Pilot Study

Clinton River Logs Removal A lot of logs – 350 tons! That’s how much was removed in 2025 from the Clinton River and the North Branch of the Clinton River during the Macomb County Public Works Office’s Large Woody Debris Project.

“Even though our office does not have jurisdiction over the main and north branches of the Clinton River, I knew something had to happen to clean out all these logjams,” Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said. “The county Board of Commissioners agrees and for three years has provided funding which has been matched by some of the communities along the river to enable the cleanup of this wonderful natural resource.”

Eliminating logjams improves the river’s flow, which improves water quality, reduces the risk of flooding, and prevents erosion when water washes away the banks as it works its way around logjams. When banks erode, the root support of trees is undermined and causes them to collapse into the river. Logs that float down the river may reach Lake St. Clair, creating a hazard for boaters and operators of personal watercraft.

350 tons

of woody debris removed from the Clinton River and the North Branch of the Clinton River in 2025!

7 blockages removed MCPWO inspections found 7 woody debris blockages in 2025.

Technology to Improve Water Quality Our office continues to implement emerging technologies to improve the management of our underground infrastructure and the county drains that are under our department’s jurisdiction.

MCPWO new drone to inspect drain

Heat map footage from new drone

GoFlo in action

Our latest is a drone used outdoors by our environmental team for inspection of our openchannel drains. It has two swappable sensors to help us find problems faster and fix them sooner, including a thermal sensor that lets us “see heat” which helps spot unusual temperature patterns in water. This is particularly helpful in detecting failed septic systems and illicit discharges of sanitary sewage into our drains including creeks, streams and the Clinton River. The other has a scanner that uses a harmless laser to create highaccuracy 3D maps of drains and floodplains. This helps us check and map logjams and debris that blocks flow, and helps us spot erosion, bank slumps, vegetation overgrowth and damaged infrastructure very efficiently.

Other useful, cutting edge technology includes our award-winning combination of a confinedspaces drone and artificial intelligence to greatly improve sewer inspections; our “GoFlo” buoyant device designed by in-house engineers to capture high-resolution images of pipe conditions while being carried by the flow inside pipe; the spiral wound plastic liner to protect our large concrete pipes from corrosive sewer gas; and the “digital twin” software to recreate virtual rainstorms for training of our pump station operators.

Maintaining Drains to Reduce Flooding

Irwin Drain Cleanout - Harrison Township

Lambert Drain Cleanout - Richmond Township

The Drain Maintenance team at the Macomb County Public Works Office works year-round in the 400 miles of open drains and 330 miles of enclosed drains under the county’s jurisdiction to ensure proper flows. That work includes removing fallen trees, clearing logjams and debris, removing overgrown vegetation and excessive sediment, reshaping the banks where necessary, and eliminating sinkholes.

In 2017, Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller started the department’s drain maintenance cost-sharing program, in which the county and individual cities, townships and villages split the expense.

“We applaud the elected officials in the cities, townships and villages who are increasingly realizing this program allows them to stretch their local dollars to prioritize trouble spots, reduce the risk of flooding and improve water quality,” Miller said.

Large woody debris removal in Clinton River

We find 'em We fix 'em

Drain Maintenance

After

Before

Teske Drain Blockage Removal - Fraser

After

Before

Kaflic Drain Cleanout - Shelby Township

After

Before

Rohrbeck-Sweeney Sinkhole - Roseville

Soil Erosion & Sediment Control Guide Available

Our office has updated its soil erosion guide for property developers and home builders. The booklet includes best management practices.

Whether planning a new subdivision, a store, a big industrial building or even putting up a backyard shed, or pool, standards must be followed to keep sediments and pollutants out of our county drains to protect water quality and prevent flooding in our communities.

Copies of the booklet can be found at local building departments, at our office or on the Public Works website.

New Rain Gauges Installed The Macomb County Public Works Office is installing 10 more rain gauges across the county that residents can check online to view rainfall data continuously recorded by the devices in near real time.

To see the data from any of the gauges, visit our website or scan this QR code with your phone. These rain gauges continuously record precipitation data on a 5-minute interval. The web page includes an interactive map that also includes historical rainfall data. The additional gauges bring to 36 the number of rainfall monitoring devices installed by our office in recent years.

“With the increased frequency of intense storms dumping 2, 3, 4 or more inches of rain, we’ve noticed that rainfall totals can be much different from one neighborhood to another located a just a few miles away,” Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said.

Bon Heur Pump Station Rehabilitation

Screw pumps

Commissioner Candice S. Miller and Wasterwater Operations Manager Vincent Astorino monitoring the screw pumps

What do ancient-Greece mathematician Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci and the Macomb County Public Works Office have in common? Screw pumps!

Screw pumps are used to move water from lower to higher ground, with designs dating back to Archimedes around 200 BC. Later, Leonardo da Vinci studied and designed variations.

Screw pumps

The Bon Heur Pump Station, built in 1980 on Harper Avenue in St. Clair Shores, has four screw pumps that are being replaced as part of a grant-funded $8.7 million renovation.

“The technology works great but these pumps, the motors that turn them and the electrical equipment have outlasted their normal life expectancy and needed to be replaced,” Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said.

The pump station handles combined stormwater and sanitary sewage from parts of St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe and Roseville.

Screw pumps

Northeast Sewage Pumping Station Completed

Commissioner Candice S. Miller outside the Northeast Sewage Pumping Station

Macomb County Public Works

The successful completion of this extensive

Commissioner Candice S. Miller and other

and vital project is the culmination of a very

infrastructure officials marked the

effective partnership between Macomb and

completion of the multi-phase $100 million

Oakland counties,” Miller said. “Together, our

overhaul of the Northeast Sewage Pumping

staff engineers worked very closely and

Station (NESPS) on 8 Mile in Detroit. It was a

effectively with consulting engineers and

5-year project directed by the Oakland-

several contractors as a team, and the

Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District

results will benefit sanitary system users

(OMIDDD). Commissioner Miller is a member and ratepayers in both counties -- and the of the OMIDDD board. The NESPS handles

environment -- for decades.

only Macomb and Oakland flows.

“There’s no overstating the importance of this massive modernization project. Without it, this aging pumping station built in the 1960s would have eventually failed and caused an infrastructure disaster and health hazard impacting many hundreds of thousands of people, homes and businesses,” Miller said.

Commissioner Candice S. Miller and Stephen Downing inside the Northeast Sewage Pumping Station

How Macomb County is Successfully Stopping CSOs into Lake St. Clair Combined sewers carry both raw sewage and stormwater in a single pipe.

During heavy rainfall, when the system exceeds its capacity, excess flow is released into local waterways to prevent basement backups. These combined sewer overflows (CSOs) receive minimal treatment, which can harm the environment and reduce property values.

Macomb County is leading the region by investing more than $100 million in grant funding to more than double its storage capacity. The increased storage has reduced CSOs by 75% as we now fully capture and convey the flows to Detroit for proper treatment.

Invested $105 million of grant funds to reduce CSOs Increased storage by 37 million gallons or by 120%

Improved water quality for the region Reduced flood risk

Increased storage by 120%

Encouraging other counties to follow our lead

75% Reduction Achieved

Upcoming Stormwater Projects Sterling Relief Drain Thanks to grant funding, we’re partnering with Sterling Heights on a $1.1 million green infrastructure project to daylight the Sterling Relief Drain from Dequindre to Mound Road. The project will add native plants to help filter stormwater and improve water quality.

Clinton River Spillway A $1.8 million grant-funded project improving flow, stabilizing streambanks, reducing sediment, and adding habitat pools and plantings along the 3-mile Spillway.

Gibson Drain We are partnering with the cities of Sterling Heights and Troy on a $900,000 locally funded project to remove 10,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment from the Gibson South stormwater pond and drain, and to stabilize the drain banks.

MACOMB COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS 2025 BY THE NUMBERS 841 MILLION GALLONS OF CSO'S PREVENTED FROM ENTERING LAKE ST. CLAIR Thanks to operational changes and improvement projects, we were able to reduce combined sewer overflows in 2025.

ONLY 94 MILLION GALLONS OF TREATED CSO'S DISCHARGED AT CHAPATON RTB In comparison, George W. Kuhn facility in Oakland County discharged 1,023 million gallons or 1,100% (11x more).

1,024 SOIL EROSION PERMITS ISSUED Sediment is one of the largest pollutants in our rivers, lakes and streams. MCPWO ensures the protection of our waterways from sediment generated from construction sites.

12,449 INSPECTIONS To facilitate the proper operations of our drains, we provide soil erosion inspections, inspect construction of storm drains, sanitary sewers, drain taps, crossings and illicit discharges.

132,000 LINEAR FEET OF AERIAL DRAIN INSPECTIONS

NO MORE SINKHOLES, REDUCING CSO’S BY 75% 25 active wasterwater and stormwater projects totaling $294 million - paid with $181 million in grant funding secured by department.

244 ENGINEERING PLANS REVIEWED We foster economic development by carefully reviewing plans of subdivisions, condominiums, industrial and commercial projects or redevelopments that discharge stormwater into a county drain.

112 DRAIN CLEANOUTS MCPWO inspected, maintained and improved 112 county drains in 25 communities utilizing grant funds, and the county's 50/50 Drain Match Program.

36 RAIN GAUGES AVAILABLE ONLINE The public can easily view the same rain information used by the MCPWO for stormwater management. County-wide real time rainfall data is now available on our website.

15.2 BILLION GALLONS

Over 27 flight hours of county drains captured and inspected by drone to support our Drain Maintenance and Plan Review teams.

of annual sewer flow volumes managed

350 TONS OF LARGE WOODY DEBRIS

5,143 MISS DIG TICKETS

350 tons of wood and debris removed from the Clinton River in 7 locations in Clinton Township, Sterling Heights, Utica, Shelby Township and the Clinton River Spillway.

MISS DIG tickets reviewed by our staff to ensure safe excavation projects throughout the county.

$294 MILLION INVESTED 25 CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

WASTEWATER - $284 MILLION Reducing CSOs

Chapaton Retention Basin - $112M Canal Expansion Electrical System Replacement Basin Flushing System Gate Replacements 9 Mile Pump Station Martin Retention Basin - $50M Jefferson Relief Pipe Basin Rehabilitation Bon Heur Pump Station

STORMWATER - $10 MILLION Flood Reduction

Trash Capture Devices - $2.0M Clinton River Spillway - $1.8M Flooding/Habitat Red Run Flood Study - $1.3M Middle Branch Bank Stabilization - $1M Stormwater Asset Management - $1M Sterling Relief Phase II Daylighting - $1M Illicit Discharge Elimination Program - $1M Lake St. Clair Muck Pilot Removal Project $800,000

No More Sinkholes MIDD Projects - $122M 15 Mile - Segment 5 Lining 15 Mile - Segment 6 Lining 15 Mile - East of Garfield Lining 4 Odor & Corrosion Facilities 3 OMID Odor & Corrosion Facilities Interceptor Sediment Removal 8 Drop Shaft Sewer Rehabilitations NGI Lining

$181.3 MILLION in grant funding

SECURED

Macomb County Public Works Office Commissioner Candice S. Miller 21777 Dunham Clinton Township, MI 48036

Report a Polluter: 24-Hour Toll Free Emergency Hotline 1-877-679-4337

586-469-5325 public.works@macombgov.org

Scan QR code to visit our website for more information