Macomb County cleans up drain by Mound and 17 Mile

STERLING HEIGHTS — A drain near a Sterling Heights shopping plaza that was filled with concrete debris and trash is now cleanly flowing to the Clinton River, according to the Macomb County Public Works Office.

In early November, the Public Works Office announced that it had recently completed maintenance work on a part of the Moore Drain that is located just west of Mound Road and north of 17 Mile Road. The drain portion is an open channel that’s about 250 linear feet, officials said.

The county said the Moore Drain’s flow eventually leads into the Clinton River and then Lake St. Clair. According to the Public Works Office, that drain is one of 475 drains that are under the county’s jurisdiction.

Public Works Office Communications Manager Norb Franz said the city and the property owner brought the problem to the county’s attention. He said that while the drain’s appearance was a mess, there wasn’t any noticeable flooding in the area. Nevertheless, he said, reshaping it and enhancing its aesthetics made a drastic difference.

“It was a ton of broken concrete,” he said. “There was a lot of litter in there. … The drain was functioning properly from a flow standpoint, but that section was an eyesore and was negatively impacting water quality due to trash and debris accumulation.”

He said the work involved tearing out the debris from the drain, including old, broken concrete and litter.

“Then what they did is they reshaped the drain banks, and then they put down a cloth barrier on top of the dirt to keep grass and weeds from coming up,” he explained. “Then they put the riprap limestone boulders on it, and what that does is it stabilizes the banks to prevent erosion.”

According to the Public Works Office, the drain maintenance work lasted Sept. 19-28 and cost a total of $50,000 to fix, though the cost was reportedly split between the city and the county.

At one point, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller and Sterling Heights Mayor Pro Tem Liz Sierawski toured the Moore Drain site to check out the finished work.

“This project will ensure good flow in the drain and improve water quality,” Miller said in an emailed statement. “It’s also another good example of how our cost-sharing program, available to any municipality in the county, can stretch dollars when it comes to drain maintenance in priority locations.”

In a statement on Miller’s Facebook page, Sierawski also commented on the project.

“I’m proud that the City of Sterling Heights has partnered with the county Public Works Office on drain maintenance projects such as this one at the Moore Drain,” Sierawski said. “It all contributes to improving quality of life in our community.”

Learn more about the Macomb County Public Works Office by visiting publicworks.macombgov.org/PublicWorks-Home.