Corrective Action

As illicit connections are located, they will be referred to the appropriate jurisdiction for corrective action. Those jurisdictions include the Cities of Center Line, Warren, Hazel Park and Madison Heights, Road Commissions of Macomb County and Oakland County and Michigan Department of Transportation. The Bear Creek team will track the status of the corrective actions. Once an agency has corrected an identified illicit connection, the drain will be sampled to verify the effectiveness of the correction.

It is expected that each corrective action will be unique, depending on the facts and circumstances of each case. Some may require simply rerouting a private sewer tap to the sanitary sewer, while others will require massive sewer upgrades. The type of correction and schedule for completion will vary for each situation. The local communities are committed to the goals of this project, but availability of resources may affect the response time.

Why doesn't the county simply block the flow of sanitary sewage into a storm drain? If the county bulkheaded illicit discharges to a storm drain without correcting the cause of the problem, wastewater would back up into homes and businesses throughout the upstream system, impacting innocent parties as well as the violators. The result would be a far greater public health threat than high levels in a county drain.

This web site has been developed by the Drain Board for the Bear Creek Clean Water Initiative. Questions about the project can be directed to Lynne Seymour, Environmental Engineer, Office of Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, (586) 469-5910.