Department of Public Works

Mission Statement

Macomb Township Department of Public Works is dedicated to the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Our goal is meet and exceed all federal, state and local requirements in providing the highest quality of drinking water, with continued high-level maintenance of the water and sanitary sewer infrastructure.

Macomb Township Department of Public Works provides drinking water to approximately 30.000 metered customers in a 36 square mile area. Water is supplied from the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) through three master-metered locations in the township.

Water & Sewer Permits

In order to obtain Township water and/or sanitary sewer service, a permit must be acquired. A water and/or sewer permit has several components to the document, which will vary the cost of the permit.

Two key elements are tap fees (size of service) and frontage fees (total front footage of your property). If you have not paid for your frontage fees by a Special Assessment in the past, then a frontage fee for water and/or sewer will be applied at the time of permit. Permits for water and/or sewer can be obtained at the Department of Water and Sewer located at 51650 Card Road, just north of 23 Mile Road.

Wipes Clog Pipes

One of the biggest challenges the sanitary sewer infrastructure faces is the flushing of so-called "Flushable Wipes."  "Flushable Wipes" do not break down like toilet paper, and these wipes cause severe damage to pumps within our pump stations.  Macomb Township has 8 pump stations throughout the community, and routine maintenance and repairs to pumps occurs due to wipes causing damage.  

The filter screen seen here is covered in “ragging” — scores of disposable wipes and other products that have been flushed down the toilet. This pump, part of the by-pass system at the 15 Mile Road site loses capacity as wipes clogs the screens around the pump or bind up the pump’s motor. Of course, no screening system is as good as catching the problem at the source — eliminating the wipes from entering the system in the first place. Use the wipes — just be sure that they end up in the trash after use. The Wipes Clog Pipes Flyer (PDF) gives additional details on other products that shouldn't be flushed as well.