Wayne County rolls out new stormwater management push

New efforts to improve stormwater infrastructure in Wayne County underway

A massive initiative to improve the water infrastructure in Michigan's biggest county is underway.

(FOX 2) - Michigan's biggest county is rolling out a new plan to maintain the infrastructure that manages stormwater and keeps rainfall from collecting in streets and flooding basements.

The massive project spans 43 communities and won't be cheap. However, Wayne County isn't waiting around and has already started on some of the improvements with preparations in place for a lot more work.

Big picture view:

A coordinated effort is underway around Wayne County that seeks to rehabilitate the pipes that keep water flowing through dozens of cities, rather than collecting and entering people's homes.

Since Labor Day, Wayne County hs already swept 94 miles of roadway and cleared 235 catch basins. 

On Wednesday, one crew was tracking along 7 Mile, using a high pressure jet line to pull material lying at the bottom of the storm line. The tube sucked out any debris that could be reducing capacity, ensuring more space is available and their is less chance of blockages forming.

"What that does it improves flow of water through the storm drain out into the drains and tributaries where it eventually makes its way into the Great Lakes," said Scott Cabauatan, with Wayne County Department of Public Services. "It gives us the design capacity that it has. When you have debris and material build up in the bottom of a storm line it reduces the capacity you have in the line."

Dig deeper:

Executive Warren Evans says the strategy driving the rehab is underpinned by six prongs: street sweeping, carch basin cleaning, detention pond maintenance, roadside ditching, county drain maintenance, and pump house rehabilitation.

Currently, Wayne County has $70 million budgeted for the project, which is expected to continue through the winter of 2027.

Wayne County maintains over 50,000 catch basins, 1,643 miles for street sweeping and roadside ditching, and 32 pump houses. It also oversees 111 municipal drains, 23 intercounty drains, and 483 additional drains.