Macomb County unclogs drain filled with decades of debris

STERLING HEIGHTS — A drain project that is expected to wind up soon should reduce the odds and effects of flooding along Van Dyke Avenue, north of 18 1/2 Mile Road, according to Macomb County officials.

Macomb County Public Works Office officials say the area around the Vokes Relief Drain, along Van Dyke, between 18 1/2 and 19 Mile roads, has been known to flood, especially as a result of heavy rains. The county says it took up the task of checking out and fixing the drain after Sterling Heights city officials heard flooding complaints.

Work on the project reportedly started in 2023, though heavy rain has been blamed for some delays. Using tools such as shovels, picks and hydraulic hammers, workers have been extracting and vacuuming out around five decades of hardened sediment from the underground stormwater pipe.

County officials say the job has required focusing around 4,000 linear feet of wider piping that’s several feet in diameter, and crews have also been checking and cleaning out an estimated 3,500 feet of narrower piping too.

The county says the sediment is composed of road grit, silt, sand and other debris, including, at one point, an old wheelbarrow. In a statement, Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said the composite material was “several feet thick,” and she explained that the drain ought to have been properly kept in good shape decades ago — before the problem grew so big.

“We have to correct some problems from the past, but we also have to look to the future so that future generations don’t have the same situation than what we found here,” Miller said. “We’re not just doing this for the immediacy, we’re doing it for our children, for our grandchildren.”

The county says the project has had a price tag of around $500,000, and they expect the job to be done by October. The county, Sterling Heights and the Vokes Relief Drain’s drainage district are splitting the costs.

The county added that it and Sterling Heights are in the process of putting together the drain’s “long-term maintenance plan.” In addition, the Public Works Office said it is considering a flow study to see whether a weir east of Van Dyke should be improved to further mitigate flooding.

The drain work comes during a time when residents have complained during City Council meetings this summer about flooding in their backyards, especially when near the Clinton River.

Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor said in a statement that the Vokes project is a critical one and an investment to protect the northern Van Dyke corridor’s homes and businesses from flooding.

“It demonstrates the commitment we’re making on behalf of companies of all sizes and the residents in the area,” the mayor said.

When asked by the Sentry what further efforts the city is taking to address flooding, especially in people’s backyards, Mayor Pro Tem Liz Sierawski said the city reached out to the residents so it could address their issues.

“We did find that it was mostly due to, of course, the extreme rain conditions. But we did have a couple of them that needed to have some of their own storm drains cleared. We helped them with that, so that did help relieve that issue for them,” Sierawski said.

“We did not find this to be citywide, that there was a lot of flooding. But if we had found that, we would have had to reach out to FEMA. Not the case at this time, but we’re keeping that open as an option.”

Learn more about the Macomb County Public Works Office by visiting macombgov.org/departments/public-works.