 From repairing sinkholes and maintaining open drains, to major underground projects protecting vital infrastructure and reducing combined sewer overflows, the Macomb County Public Works team led by Commissioner Candice S. Miller was very busy in 2022, working to improve water quality, quality of life and to be a component of economic prosperity.
Click here to check out our 2022 Year in Review video.
Commissioner Miller and her team wish you and yours a happy and healthy New Year!
 Macomb County continues to be concerned about Oakland County discharges of combined sewer overflows into Macomb County and the volume of those discharges.
The Macomb County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution urging Oakland County leaders to make investments to reduce CSOs, Warren has issued a proclamation and several other communities are considering a resolution.
Check out these recent articles for more details.
https://www.detroitnews.com/.../macomb.../69703073007/
https://www.macombdaily.com/.../jim-fouts-macomb.../
 With 475 drains under the jurisdiction of the Macomb County Public Works Office – including 401 miles of open channels – many parts have overgrown vegetation and fallen dead trees that should be removed to ensure optimal drainage of storm water and better water quality.
Our drain maintenance crew recently did a “muck out” of the Rabe Drain near 25 Mile and Foss roads in Macomb Township. That was followed by a reshaping of the channel to permitted historical levels. It’s the first cleanout of the Rabe Drain since 1916.
“Agriculture and farming, represented by the Macomb Farm Bureau, are a very important part of Macomb County’s economy. After heavy spring rainfall, if farmers’ fields don’t drain properly, they could lose their crops,” Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said. “The Rabe Drain was dry recently but it won’t be for long.”
Click here to view a fast-action video shows the improvement of the cleanout and the start of reshaping in 2,000 feet of the Rabe Drain. It’s an excellent example of the Public Works Office’s cost-sharing program with cities, townships and villages for drain maintenance projects. The program was launched by Commissioner Miller in 2017 with annual vital funding from the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.
 The drain maintenance team at the Macomb County Public Works Office recently removed several logs and other debris from the Clinton River Spillway weir.
The Clinton River Spillway is a nearly 2.5-mile-long channel that works as a bypass of the Clinton River for excess storm water that flows into the river from more than 40 communities in parts of Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair and Lapeer counties. It was designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and constructed from 1949-51 to reduce recurring flooding in Mount Clemens and parts of Clinton and Harrison townships.
The weir was installed across the approximately 80-foot-wide spillway in the 1980s. It can be raised or lowered to manage flows between the Clinton River and the Spillway based on river and lake levels. Removing debris is important to prevent larger logjams and to ensure the weir functions properly.
 What a difference! The Macomb County Public Works pilot project to block litter and other trash from getting into Lake St. Clair is proving again to be effective and beneficial to the environment.
The trash was captured by a device we installed in 2021 along Jefferson Avenue near Martin Road, near the outfall of the dual, 11-foot-wide box sewer pipes of the 11 ½ Mile Drain, which carries storm water runoff and melted snow from parts of St. Clair Shores and Roseville. After the trash was raked out, we checked the device a couple of weeks later and spotted minnows! Going from a trash-filled storm drain emptying into Lake St. Clair, to that same storm drain filled with minnows, is a remarkable change.
Trash and litter get into open storm drains or fall through catch basins along major roads, neighborhood streets and backyards. The trash capture structure is checked periodically, and we have discovered the amount of recovered trash varies based on recent wet weather and upstream flow volume.
“Like everything we do, this project is about water quality,” Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller said. “Designed in-house, it appears very effective thus far. We will continue to study it and hope to install these devices at the 11 other outfalls from the Macomb County shoreline of Lake St. Clair that are under our office’s jurisdiction.”
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