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Water and Sewer Department

The Ecorse Water and Sewer Department is maintained by four (4) people. Jack Durbin is the department head, Melissa Frierson is the office assistant Joe Volk and Duane Pennyman are the field technicians. The office phone number during regular working hours (8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday) is (313) 294-3707. During the after hours and holidays, residents can call the Ecorse Police at (313) 381-0900 to report an emergency.

Many sections of the Ecorse Water System and Sewer System were constructed in the early to mid 1900’s. These sections are a challenge to maintain through out the year. There are numerous water main breaks and sewer back ups that can be expected because of the systems’ age. The newer sections of pipe are easier to maintain but are also limited because these sections are aging as well.

The City of Ecorse buys its water from the City of Detroit. There is one (1) main connection point to the Detroit System and it is located at 19th Street and Visger Street. There are many residential users of the Ecorse Water System but the major user is U. S. Steel Corporation. The water is drawn from Lake Huron and processed by the Detroit Water System.

Wayne County treats the waste water generated within the City of Ecorse. The waste water treatment plant is located in the City of Wyandotte. There are two (2) locations where the waste water from Ecorse enters the Wayne County Interceptor System. One area is at Outer Drive and 17th Street. The other is off of White Street at 9th Street.

Many residents have problems with sewer backups. Most of the time, these backups are the result of some one within the area, pouring the left over grease from a meal down the kitchen drain. Grease that is poured down any house hold drain will accumulate and begin to form a blockage in the sewer. Once enough grease is poured into the drain, a blockage will form and back water up the sewer. Please do not pour grease into a drain!

Other things that can be done to minimize the number of times your sewer backs up are as follows:

HOW CAN YOU REDUCE YOUR SEWER BACKUP PROBLEMS?

There is no perfect answer and there are no guarantees!

Home Maintenance:

1. Stop putting grease down the drain
2. Repair the gutters
3. Fill around basement
4. Extend down spouts
5. If water proofing has failed, re-apply water proofing

Construction:

1. Install inline back flow preventers
2. Install stand pipes
3. Install floor drain plugs
4. Install sump pumps
5. Install ejector pumps

DISCLAIMER

All views and opinions expressed by any representative of the City of Ecorse regarding remedies to reduce sewer backup problems, including any construction and/or the installation of equipment are suggestions only. Not every sewer backup problem is the same! The City of Ecorse strongly recommends that before you spend any money on a remedy, you should call a professional sewer contractor to come look at the problem and work with you to determine what solution might best work for your situation. Be sure to ask your contractor for additional remedies including other cost saving measures that will work best for your particular circumstance.