Dearborn Sewer Separation Project Ending Sooner Than Expected

DEARBORN, MI — Dearborn residents can rejoice: a disruptive sewer project originally expected to conclude at the end of 2025 is ahead of schedule and could be completed by November 2021, city officials said Monday.

The project, which was one alternative to mitigating a federally-mandated Combined Sewer Overflow Control, began in 2006 and has upgraded much of the city's infrastructure, including sewers, water mains and roads, officials said.

The final phase of this sewer separation project will take place in several private parking lots and buildings along Michigan Avenue, between Gulley Road and Telegraph Road, as well as the Normandy Apartment Complex, 24320 Michigan Ave.

Dearborn officials said the project was required by a permit issued by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. It was based on a federal mandate requiring the city to eliminate the discharge of untreated wastewater in the Rouge River.

More than 40 municipalities in the Rouge River watershed have been affected by the mandate.

Sewer separation involves adding a second sewer pipe parallel to the existing one in order to have one transport wastewater to a treatment facility and another transporting rainwater to the Rouge River, officials said.

Prior to the project, wastewater would sometimes combine with rainwater during heavy downpours and would overflow into the river, according to the city. Dearborn used the opportunity to replace roads, sidewalks and water mains. In all, 50 miles of new roads and 40 miles of new water lines were installed in some neighborhoods requiring sewer work.

Officials said the project allowed the city to eliminate roughly $1.5 million in annual costs.

The project wasn't the city's first attempt at addressing wastewater overflow. In the 1990s, The concept of constructing a deep rock tunnel to temporarily store a mixture of waste and rain waters was implemented in 1990s, but the project did not succeed and was abandoned.

In early 2000, the construction of a deep sinking caisson concept to temporarily store a mixture of waste and rain waters was implemented, officials said. The concept was also abandoned.

Between the years 2022 and 2026, Dearborn plans to construct a screening and disinfection facility to address the failed caisson sites. The screening and disinfection facility for Dearborn will be constructed along the river and away from the neighborhood, officials said.