By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published April 2, 2025
GROSSE POINTE FARMS — In an effort to greatly reduce the influx of stormwater into the sewer system and prevent flooding and basement backups, Grosse Pointe Farms will begin work this year on a project to separate storm and sanitary sewers in what officials refer to as the Inland District.
The roughly $11 million project will involve adding a 48-inch stormwater force main and 60-inch stormwater gravity sewer to convey stormwater to Lake St. Clair when it rains.
In 2020, City Manager Shane Reeside said officials reviewed about 17 options to address excess flow into the sewer system, with the “goal of reducing the impact of basement flooding and street flooding.”
“This is a project that has been years in the making,” Reeside said at a March 10 Farms City Council meeting.
Nate Coffin, a staff engineer with Hubbell, Roth and Clark, is serving as the construction engineer on this project. During the March 10 council meeting, Coffin said the force main starts at 352 Chalfonte Ave. — a city-owned parcel at the corner of Moross Road and Chalfonte — which is where the transition structure will be built. Stormwater from the Inland District will be conveyed to Chalfonte and Moross. It will transition from the force main to a gravity sewer, with the gravity sewer being constructed at the entrance to the Country Club of Detroit’s golf course. Continuing under CCD property, the sewer will take stormwater to Kercheval Avenue, where it will head south on Kercheval to Tonnacour Place, then east on Tonnacour to the lake.
The bulk of the work will take place on CCD property, rather than on Moross. The gravity sewer will be tucked back on the left side of the golf club entrance road in green space, Coffin said.
Reeside said they were able to avoid putting the gravity sewer in CCD’s parking lot, which is of benefit to the club and reduced the cost of the project. He said the forced sewer main will be placed along the southern edge of the golf course.
The forced main was originally slated to be placed underneath Moross Road, but as Reeside pointed out, that would have involved many more challenges — including underground gas lines and other utilities, driveway approaches and the removal of numerous street trees. In addition, he said it would have been costlier and taken longer, not to mention made it much more difficult for the many residents and visitors who drive Moross each day.
“Cost is a factor, as is disruption,” Reeside said. “This is going to be much less disruptive to those residents along Moross Road.”
Engineers told the city the CCD option should save them about $2.9 million, Reeside said. That’s due to not having to dig up and rebuild Moross and multiple driveway approaches, among other reasons.
Because it runs parallel to Moross, the CCD property was a viable option.
In addition, Reeside said CCD agreed to give the city a second easement along the northern edge of the golf course, which will save the city about $500,000 toward a future phase of this project.
In return, the city negotiated to provide benefits to CCD, including a one-time easement payment of $700,000, stabilized water rates for irrigation only based upon the wholesale rates the Farms water plant charges Grosse Pointe City, and an upgraded water main that supplies water to CCD’s pump station, which Reeside said will increase water volume for golf course irrigation.
The council voted unanimously in favor of a 55-year agreement with CCD.
City Attorney William Burgess said agreements like this typically go on for decades. The easements, however, “will continue to exist in perpetuity,” Burgess said. That means even if the club were to close one day and the property got sold for another development, the easements would remain.
If the club ever closed and something else was developed on the parcel, however, Mayor Louis Theros said the discounted water rate for irrigation would no longer apply.
At press time, work was expected to start this May, when the outfall — where stormwater will be sent into the lake — will be built at the intersection of Lake Shore Road and Tonnacour. From June through August, construction will take place on Tonnacour Place. Engineers said that from September through October, the plan is to do the portion of the project that’s along Kercheval. From late fall 2025 to early spring 2026, work will be conducted on CCD property. Engineers said they hope to be finished with this project by April 10, 2026.
“They will remain open, business as normal, during the winter months,” Coffin said of CCD.
City Council member Lev Wood said the city recognizes that this project will have an impact on residents on Tonnacour, so a new water main on that street — something that the city had already been considering — is something that will also be built during the sewer separation project.
“There are plans for a new water main on Tonnacour,” Wood said. “They’re going to get better and more reliable water pressure.”
Coffin said flyers will be sent to all residents along the construction route.
“Unfortunately, the construction will impact residents,” Coffin said of the project, which involves deep underground work.
Residents will be able to check the city’s website for updates, and Coffin said engineers will hold informational meetings before construction starts where residents can ask questions. Those meetings hadn’t been scheduled as of press time.
Officials said the benefits will outweigh the inconveniences, as the project will put considerably less pressure on the sanitary sewer system during rain events.
“I suggest this is going to be $11 million extremely well spent,” City Councilman John Gillooly said. “We promise we’re going to keep everybody up to date as far as construction. … This is a great project for the city of Grosse Pointe Farms.”
On March 10, the City Council unanimously approved a low bid of $9,390,381.73 from Shelby Township-based Diponio Contracting LLC. With a 10% contingency of $939,038.17 and construction engineering estimated at $675,000, that brings the total project cost to $11,004,420.
Diponio was one of five bidders for the project.
“The three lowest bidders were all below our engineers’ estimate” of $10.86 million, Coffin said.
The council also unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the sale of $11.98 million worth of general obligation bonds to pay for the project. Reeside said this is similar to what the Farms did when it separated the Lakeside district. He said they anticipate a total impact on tax bills of about 2 mills, but it will be 0.5 mills in the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year.
The city will be issuing a 20- to 30-year bond; the length of the bond will depend on rates at the time the bond is issued, Reeside said.
“(Interest) rates are actually more favorable (now) than they were a year ago,” Reeside said.
The Lakeside District sewer separation project was paid off about two years ago, Reeside said.
The Farms separated the Lakeside District in 1999 to 2000. That portion of the city was easier to separate because it had the advantage of closer proximity to Lake St. Clair and gravity on its side, making it less complicated to send stormwater runoff to the lake.
Officials said this project will benefit residents and businesses for years to come.
“You cannot underestimate what we’re doing here,” Theros said. “(It) is a project that is long overdue that will hopefully reduce to insignificant levels the risk of basement flooding of our community. … This is really monumental for the Farms.”