Oakland County, MI

The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s office has tested operational adjustments to reduce the possibility of basement flooding in Oakland and Wayne Counties and reduce sewage discharges into the Red Run Drain.

“Oakland County is doing what it can and taking additional steps toward simultaneously reducing the possibility of basement flooding in Oakland County and Detroit while also preventing the discharge of raw sewage into the Red Run Drain,” said Oakland County Water Commissioner Jim Nash. “Ultimately, a regional solution will be necessary to deal with increasingly frequent severe rain events across an interconnected regional system, but leadership toward that solution starts with Oakland County and we are pleased with the outcome of this operational improvement.”

In a letter to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Commissioner Nash detailed the system adjustment and its impact during recent rain events. Oakland County experts decreased flow to the Dequindre Interceptor, the 72-inch pipe that channels sewage downstream to the Great Lakes Water Authority treatment facility. The decreased flow created more retention capacity in the Dequindre Interceptor, reducing the possibility of backups and subsequent sewage overflows from the Oakland and Wayne County systems during some extreme rain events.

“The GWK Retention Treatment Facility has had an excellent compliance record, and while sewage overflows from the Dequindre Interceptor are relatively rare, extreme weather events are increasing in severity and frequency, so we will continue working to improve Oakland County’s operations while we urge all our regional partners to improve the resilience of the entire regional system.” Environmental regulations.

Click to view the press release.

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