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ROSEVILLE — Macomb County is looking to reduce stormwater in the sewer system through a free rain barrel program, and Roseville is the first municipality picked for the program.
The Macomb County Public Works Department is spearheading the effort.
“We appreciate you thinking of Roseville. This pilot program, I’m hoping, kicks off and helps other communities across Macomb County,” Roseville Mayor Robert Taylor said. “Who knows, this could be the start of something big.”
Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller gave a presentation outlining the program and its benefits at the Roseville City Council’s Aug. 13 meeting. The city is the first in the county to participate in the program. Miller said residents often ask for ways to help improve water quality.
“It’s something I think can make a little bit of a difference,” Miller said. “If nothing else, it helps educate the next generation on how to do stormwater management within the confines of your own property.”
Miller said the county purchased 200 rain barrels, which can hold 58 gallons each, for the program. Each kit comes with a barrel, a spigot, brass connectors, Mosquito Dunks to kill mosquito larvae, a stand and attachment parts for the gutter spout. The first 200 barrels will be free of charge and only available for Roseville residents, with a limit of one per household. According to Roseville City Manager Ryan Monroe, there is no set date for when the barrels will be available, but he is hoping the city will receive them soon.
“Let’s just start with Roseville and see how it goes,” Miller said.
The barrels and accessories cost about $190 each with a total cost of $36,000, according to Miller. The project was funded by the Southeast Macomb County Wastewater Disposal System.
“The money really has come from Roseville, St. Clair Shores and Eastpointe residents into a fund that they use for various things,” Miller said.
The barrels used in the program were previously used to transport olives and pickles from Greece, according to Macomb County Community Services Coordinator Steve Duchane.
Miller and Duchane mentioned that areas with a combined sewer system would be targeted for rain barrel distribution. In a combined system, both wastewater and stormwater flow through the same pipes, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website. The EPA states that the combined flows can potentially overwhelm the system. During wet weather, relief points in the system release combined sewer overflows of partially treated wastewater into Lake St. Clair.
“It basically gets a shot of chlorine,” Norb Franz, communications manager for the Macomb County Public Works Office, said. “They call it ‘partially’ because of the volume, having to be treated quickly, it gets that. That’s to kill the E. coli.”
Franz said there hasn’t been an untreated overflow in Macomb County in recent years.
“CSOs are a major water pollution and public health concern for approximately 700 communities in the United States,” the EPA site states. “CSOs can contain bacteria, debris, and other hazardous substances that can be harmful to people, pets, and wildlife. CSOs can also cause beach closures, shellfish bed closures, algae growth, reduced oxygen levels in waterways, and aesthetic impacts from floating debris or oil slicks.”
Later in the meeting, Monroe detailed which residents would get priority in the barrel program.
“That’s our residents that live between Frazho and 11 Mile, between Hayes and Gratiot,” he said. “That is our highest concentration of a combined sewer system.”
Later in the meeting, the City Council unanimously approved waiving the $30 inspection fee for rain barrels used in the pilot program. Councilwoman Jan Haggerty was absent from the meeting.
“We are asking council to waive that fee for this pilot program to make sure our residents can get this pilot program up and running free of cost to them,” Monroe said.
For more information on the barrels, contact the Roseville Department of Public Services at (586) 445-5470.
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