Sewer Work Underway To Prevent Potential Catstrophic Collapse

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — New maintenance inside a massive sewer that runs along Interstate 94 and crosses under the Clinton River in Macomb County is the is largest and most complete infrastructure inspection program in county history and is imperative to prevent the potential for a sewer collapse beneath the river officials said would be "an environmental catastrophe," according to public works officials.

Crews will be sealing severe leaks, stopping infiltration of sediment into the pipe and executive other work that will make sure any potential for the issue would be identified ahead of time, officials said.

“This is maintenance which had been ignored for too long,” Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said. “Not anymore.”

Chemical grouting of cracks where leaks were discovered is underway in one of the most important areas of the sewer way — beneath the Clinton River, near I-94 and North River Road, officials said. The Lakeshore Interceptor sewer is six miles long, and grouting the 11-foot concrete pipe should stop infiltration in advance of future rehabilitation and maintenance projects, officials said.

“After comprehensive inspections of the sewers, it’s no surprise that we found our sewers need a lot of work,” Miller said. “Can you even imagine if we had a sewer collapse under the Clinton River – a sewer that handles the sanitary waste from about a half a million people? It would be an environmental catastrophe.

“When we talk about investing in our underground infrastructure, it’s not to just make sure the sewers work well, we have to make sure we never have any issues with our environment as well,” Miller added.

Following the sinkhole on 15 Mile Road in Fraser in December 2016,

Miller ordered inspections of the Macomb Interceptor sewer that carries the waste shed by approximately 600,000 people from 11 of Macomb County’s communities following the sinkhole on 15 Mile Road in Fraser in December 2016.

Grouting followed beneath 15 Mile Road, including under the ITC Corridor and the Red Run Drain in Sterling Heights. A sewer collapse under either of those two locations would be disastrous, officials said.

In August 2020, grouting was performed inside a portion of the Macomb Interceptor Drain beneath Garfield Road near Clinton River Road in Clinton Township. Weeks of grouting was performed under Garfield Road near M-59 last winter. Operations then shifted south near the intersection of Garfield and Canal roads and were completed in April, the department said.

More than $4 million has been spent on chemical grouting, officials said.

A Macomb County environmental services company was awarded a contract last December to periodically inspect 26 miles of sanitary sewers, more than 360 manholes and a dozen drop shafts. Reinforced concrete pipes will now be inspected every six years, and non-reinforced concrete pipes will be checked every three years, officials said.