Big dips in Warren backyards led to a large sinkhole repair

WARREN — A group of Warren residents in the area south of 12 Mile Road between Hoover Road and Van Dyke Avenue recently reported their backyards were sinking, which led to a large sinkhole project being repaired by the Macomb County Public Works Office.

Public Works conducted an inspection and found there was an issue with the Lorraine Drain. The drain is an 11-foot pipe which is about 8 feet underground. A total of three dye tests were administered and exposed the drain leaking from 18 joints, according to Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller.

“So we decided to fix the drain and fill it all in,” said Miller in an informational video.

According to Miller, most of the sinkholes they find are small but whatever the size, it needs to be repaired.

“They (sinkholes) all need to be fixed and they all impact people,” Miller said. “When we find them, we fix them.”

This project was larger than anticipated.

“We thought this was going to be a small, relatively inexpensive project,” Miller said. “Once we started grouting the pipes and filling in the various voids, the voids took in a lot more of that material than we had originally anticipated.”

That material is a flowable mixture of sand and cement that is used to pump into the cavity to fill it, according to Miller.

According to Miller, the Lorraine Drain originated when Warren was an agricultural community. The drains were uncovered during that time but as neighborhoods evolved and Warren became more of a city, the drains were covered up with soil and other things. Miller referred to the drains as old and having a finite life expectancy. According to the Macomb County Public Works Office, the Lorraine Drain was installed in 1960.

Aging infrastructure is a community concern.

“This project turned out to be almost a $200,000 project. That’s a big project for a drain in people’s backyard, but what are you going to do?” Miller said.

She said a small child could get their foot stuck in the sinkhole, or other things could happen, and that such situations are not safe.

“These drains are under our jurisdiction, and we have to take care of them, and we did that in this case,” said Miller.

Fifty percent of the cost to repair the drain will be paid by the office’s drain match program funded by the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.  The other half will be paid by the cities of Warren and Center Line, both of which are served by the Lorraine Drain, according to Miller’s office.

“We’re all in it together,” Miller said.