Massive sewer repair project is nearing completion on southend

Huge new sewer lines are being installed on Jos. Campau to Denton. City officials say this will reduce the incidents of basement flooding throughout the city.

By Charles Sercombe
In the next couple of months Hamtramck’s sewer system will be greatly improved.
Since April the city has taken the first steps toward updating its entire sewer system with a new line being installed on Jos. Campau from Goodson to Denton.
This new line is 60-some inches in diameter, as opposed to the existing line that is only several inches in size.
The city’s older line will flow into a chamber structure currently being built that will then spill into the new and much larger line.
That line in turn connects with another that is 90 inches in diameter. This first part of the project “will help alleviate” citywide basement flooding, said Project Manager Ryan Kern, who is part of Hennessey Engineers.
This first of several phases should be completed by September, said Kern.
The cost of this project is $3.5 million, which came from a state loan. That price tag also includes placing new liners in some of the city’s sewer lines.
For many years a number of households in the city experienced repeated basement flooding whenever there was a heavy rainstorm. The existing system could not handle the sudden inflow of water and subsequently backed up raw sewage into basements.
Those floods caused many households to throw out contaminated furniture and other possessions.
Over 100 residents filed a class action lawsuit a few years ago for damages and won. A court-ordered tax judgment was passed on to homeowners – including the same people who filed the lawsuit – to pay for the damage.
The city was also ordered by the court to begin fixing the problem.
It is estimated the total cost for updating the sewer system is $40 million.
Next up is looking for funding for the second phase, said City Manager Katrina Powell. That work would include connecting a new line from Jos. Campau and Goodson to a main line on Lumpkin.

A retainer basin on Jos. Campau and Goodson will help alleviate heavy rainfall overflow.

“So far it’s not looking good,” Powell said in regard to finding funding.
However, Powell said she is optimistic a grant will be found.
In other city improvements, Powell said the city will be awarded $1 million from a federal grant to reconstruct Holbrook from Jos. Campau to Conant.
The only catch is the city has to kick in $300,000 on top of the $1 million grant. But that will be taken care of through an annual state road repair fund.
That project is scheduled to begin in 2018, she said.
It was one of five proposals the city submitted to Wayne County, which administers the grant, for approval. Powell has said since she took her position in the city over a year ago she has aggressively gone after county financial support for road repairs.
Her effort has paid off.
“We’ve been at the table,” Powell said about her role in pursuing the county.