Super Bowl Sewage Nightmare Averted In Macomb County

(WWJ) Patriot fans weren't the only people sitting on the edge of their seats on Super Bowl Sunday: Macomb County officials were anxiously waiting to see if too many flushing toilets caused a sewage catastrophe.

And all went well.

Macomb County's potential Super Bowl sewer nightmare was averted after people conserved water, held back on flushing the toilet, and even used paper plates at restaurants to save on dishwasher use.

The threat was the possibility of raw sewage overflowing into neighborhood basements or the Clinton River. It stems from a sink hole that appeared and damaged a sewer line over the Christmas holiday.

Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller says sewage monitoring went on all day long.

"We had eyes on 24/7 really, all through the day, through the night last night, and looking at my emails here, the guys finally gave me the all clear at about 3:20 a.m., in the morning, when they said 'it looks like we're through it.'"

In another month, an 11-foot diameter sewer line will be clear of any clogs, officials said, eliminating the threat of overflow. Work on a temporary bypass should be done in about a month.

"Kudos to all the people in the 11 communities in Macomb County who I know restricted their water usage and that is really what made the difference, I believe," Miller said.