The grassroots environmental group Save Lake St. Clair is urging residents in 11 Macomb County communities to preserve water this Super Bowl weekend to prevent sewage overflows into the lake from the Fraser sinkhole site.
SLSC said that Super Bowl Sunday is typically the day when U.S. households use the most water, mostly due to parties and gatherings to watch the game.
At the same time, the sewer line that collapsed on 15 Mile Road, causing the Christmas Eve sinkhole, has stopped functioning entirely. Initially, the huge underground pipe was flowing at 30 percent of capacity. But the area where the interceptor fractured is now blocked by sediment, according to Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller.
Miller said last week that temporary diversions to other pipes can only handle the flow of sewage and wastewater during dry periods. Any added flow due to snow melt or rain could force the discharge of raw sewage into the Clinton River, as was undertaken during the first days of the sewer break in December. That sewage eventually flowed into Lake St. Clair.
SLSC founder Mike Gutow warns that added flow could trigger pollution releases this weekend due to a Super Bowl water-use surge.
“More people will be partying and drinking at one 4-hour period than all year. Every bar will be running dishwashers like crazy trying to keep up. More going to the bathroom during this time and flushing more than ever,” Gutow wrote on the SLSC Facebook page. “We need and must conserve our water starting this Friday.”
A lakefront resident in St. Clair Shores, Gutow is calling for a community effort across Macomb County to help keep the sewer flow to a minimum.
“If you are in the affected 11 communities, Please do not do laundry during these couple of days. Why? Laundry alone uses about 40 gallons of water per load. Think about (145,000) houses all doing a couple of loads during this 3-day stretch and how much we could save from being sent down the pipes. We need to cut our shower time down during these couple of days. If you take 10-minute showers try to cut it down to five minutes. Every gallon counts.
“Make sure to tell you entire family to turn the faucets off when brushing your teeth. Every gallon counts. Make sure to only flush the toilet when absolute needed. ‘When its brown flush it down, if its yellow let it mellow.’ Every gallon counts.”
The 11 communities affected by the emergency declared last month by County Executive Mark Hackel, which called for water conservation efforts by the public, are:
Fraser, Clinton Township, Sterling Heights, Macomb Township, Shelby Township, Chesterfield Township, Harrison Township, Washington Township, Utica, Lenox Township, New Haven, and also the Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
Photo: SLSC
This photo from Jan. 31 shows debris floating in Lake St. Clair near Jefferson and Crocker that residents said smelled like sewage.
