Officials outline $237 million-plus in Macomb County water projects aimed at reducing sewer overflows into Lake St. Clair

Macomb County and state officials told the Saint Clair Shores Waterfront Environmental Committee that a series of sewer, interceptor and stormwater projects are under way or planned to reduce combined sewer overflows to Lake St. Clair.

Deputy Public Works Commissioner Don Brown, who earlier in the meeting identified himself as having recently left his elected commissioner's seat to join the public works office, said the county has used ARPA funding and other sources to invest in lake-related infrastructure. "Those 3 projects alone are gonna reduce the amount of CSOs going to the lake by nearly 40%," Brown said, referring to a set of large projects discussed at the meeting.

State Sen. Kevin Hertel described state and federal grant activity that supports local projects. He told the committee his office and partners have secured sizable funding for lake-area projects over the past six years, and listed several targeted investments: a retention-basin project at the foot of 9 Mile Road, a Martin Drain project in St. Clair Shores, a water-treatment project for Harson's Island and interceptor work in Chesterfield, among others. "We also need help from our federal partners as well," Hertel said.

Steve Duchene, Macomb County community projects coordinator, quantified county work and funding during his remarks: "We have 22 projects in Macomb County. $237,000,000 going into the ground. Chapitin is $59,000,000. Martin, $50,000,000," he said. Duchene and Brown said the Macomb interceptor district serves about 600,000 people and that county officials have secured grant funding from state and federal partners to avoid shifting the full cost to local taxpayers.

Speakers described a mix of projects that include retention basins, interceptor upgrades, relief drains and flood mitigation, some of which officials said would begin construction soon and some that will continue in phases. Brown said the county and its partners are investing in inspection technologies and studies to address persistent lake issues including sediment or "muck" and to modernize sewer assessments using drones and artificial intelligence.

The officials emphasized the multi-level funding and bipartisan support for the projects, crediting state and federal contributions that supplemented county dollars. No formal vote or ordinance was recorded during the committee session regarding these projects; presentations aimed to update the committee and public on progress and planned work.