Macomb County issued the following announcement on Feb. 10.
A $1 million clean-up along the Bear Creek drain in Warren is nearing completion.
The work is being overseen by the Macomb County Public Works Office. Old diesel fuel from a gas station on Mound Road, just north of I-696, was found to be leaking into the drain. The corrective action is expected to be completed in approximately a week.
“Our office discovered this contamination in the drain and we immediately began to work with the property owner, who has been a great corporate citizen. With this action, we have eliminated a source of pollution in one of our drains, which ultimately carries water out to Lake St. Clair. There is no one single action needed to keep our water clean, but many actions, taken together across our region is what makes the difference,” said Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller.
Miller’s office posted a video to Facebook and YouTube this week, highlighting the latest steps to collect the fuel leak. A link to the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74zm8UXZnM
In March 2019, the leak into the drain was discovered. The old fuel was bubbling up into the drain. Immediately, booms and other temporary containment measures were put in to place while a longer-term solution was developed. Now, a containment trench has been created that will capture any potential leaks from the gas station, allowing them to be pumped out prior to entering the drain. The containment trench will be checked on a regular basis until it is reported as clean continuously for two years.
“During this work, it was important to us to not only protect the drain, but to work with the owner of this BP station to allow them to remain in operation. It is a very busy truck refueling center along one of our most utilized industrial corridors. We did not want to interrupt the industry in that area. Serving as a component of economic vitality for our residents is our goal, along with keeping our water clean,” Miller said.
“This turned out to be easily the biggest clean-up in recent memory in Macomb County, but if the job is large or small, our motto remains, We Find ‘Em, and We Fix ‘Em,” Miller said.
MCPWO work crews are out in the county’s open drains – those that appears as small creeks or rivers – across the county every day, ensuring proper flow, removing any blockages such as dead trees, and looking for problem spots. MCPWPO has also inspected numerous closed county drains – massive pipes that travel under major roads around the county. A new closed drain inspection is scheduled to begin next week on the Lake Boulevard Drain, which runs west-east from I-94 to Lake St. Clair, just north of 12 Mile Road, in Roseville and St. Clair Shores.
“Inspection is a critical function of our asset management plan, maintaining our infrastructure to keep our water clean and our economy moving forward,” Miller said.
Original source can be found here.
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