Macomb County Declares A State Of Emergency

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — Macomb County has declared a state of emergency, according to a press release. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel made the announcement in light of the recent colossal sewer break in Fraser. The impacted sewer services roughly 150,000 homes and half a million residents.

“This has been a major sewer situation and disruption of services,” Hackel said in a statement. “Our Emergency Management team continues to receive requests for assistance from local residents and businesses who are in the affected area.” The "affected area" is a huge swath of the county, including: Fraser, Sterling Heights, Utica and New Haven and Chesterfield, Shelby, Clinton, Harrison, Lenox, Washington, and Macomb townships, and Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

In response to the sewer disaster, the Macomb County Department of Public Works is asking all Macomb County residents to scale back water usage. Hackel elaborated, “Each one of us can contribute to water conservation efforts that will, in turn, reduce the wastewater flowing into the damaged sewer."

Below are a few tips to cut back on your water usage, which SEMCOG estimates is roughly 77 gallons of water a day per person. Also, the Macomb County Department of Public Works has established a phone line dedicated to answering any questions about the conservation initiative: 586-493-6744.

Water conservation tips for residents:
In every room that contains plumbing:

• repair leaky faucets, indoors and out.
• when cooking, peel and clean vegetables in a large bowl of water instead of under running water.
• fill the sink or basin when washing and rinsing dishes.
• only run the dishwasher when it's full.
• when buying a dishwasher, select one with a light-wash option.
• only use the garbage disposal when necessary (composting is a great alternative).
• install faucet aerators.

In the bathroom:

• take short showers instead of baths.
• turn off the water to brush teeth, shave and soap up in the shower.
• fill the sink to shave.
• repair leaky toilets. Add 12 drops of food coloring into the tank, and if color appears in the bowl one hour later, the toilet is leaking.
• install a toilet dam, faucet aerators and low-flow showerheads.

Laundry:

• run full loads of laundry.
• when purchasing a new washing machine, buy a water-saving model that can be adjusted to the load size.

Patch file photo