Macomb Township grew from 50,478 people in 2000 to 91,663 in 2020, and its houses show it. The Census puts the median year built at 2000, and 48.6% of homes went up that year or later. That makes plumbing here a different job than in Fraser, where the median home dates to 1972. Cast iron and clay are rare in housing this new. Twenty-year-old water heaters, aging sump pumps and lawn irrigation are not. We work across both township ZIPs, 48042 and 48044, from the Waldenburg area off 22 Mile up toward Macomb Corners.
Up Groesbeck to Hall Road, then north
Our office at 32940 Janet Ave sits just west of Groesbeck Highway. Groesbeck runs north through Clinton Township, swings around the west side of downtown Mount Clemens, and ends at Hall Road on the township line, where the road keeps going north as North Avenue. That's our usual route.
Before we head out, we'll ask the age of the water heater or pump if you know it; the date code on the label tells us a lot. Most visits here start in a poured-concrete basement at the sump pit or the heater. On a heater we check venting, the gas connection, the T&P discharge and the expansion tank. On a pump we test the float and check valve and see where the discharge lands. If the work needs a township permit, we'll say so up front.
Subdivision basements built in the 1990s and 2000s
About 61% of the township's 32,514 homes date from 1990 to 2009, and just 3.6% predate 1960. Nearly everyone owns: only 8.6% of homes are rented, and 78.1% are single-family detached. A typical one has a poured basement with interior drain tile running to a sump pit, copper or early PEX supply, and PVC or ABS drains. These are good systems, and they're old enough now that original parts fail on schedule. A tank installed with the house in 2003 is past the age when most start to leak, and a pump from that year may already be on its second replacement.
Water is the other pattern. The Middle Branch of the Clinton River runs near Macomb Corners, and on August 25, 2023 the National Weather Service warned of possible flooding on 21 and 22 Mile roads and near a few homes around Heyndrich Road and Cass Avenue. Finished basements near that corridor are worth a battery backup pump and, where the main drain allows it, a backwater valve. The township plumbing permit lists both backwater valves and basement rough-ins as line items.
Weighing a replacement heater? Our comparison of tank and tankless water heaters in Michigan lays out the trade-offs for a family house.
Work that subdivision homes need most
Water heater installation
About 61% of homes went up from 1990 to 2009, so many original tank heaters have reached the end of their run. A swap is the time to check the expansion tank and venting.
Sump pump installation and repair
Subdivision basements drain to sump pits, and the Middle Branch of the Clinton River can flood near 21 and 22 Mile. A pump from the original build may be near its last spring.
Backflow testing and prevention
The township says automated irrigation drives its peak water demand, and its plumbing permit lists backflow preventers. Any sprinkler system tied to house water needs one in working order.
Main water line repair and replacement
All 351 pre-1989 service lines the township dug up in 2024 were copper, so the work here is pinhole leaks and shallow lines that freeze. A new tap needs a separate DPW permit.
Sewer inspection and line repair
Backwater valves are a line item on the township plumbing permit and protect finished basements on the county sewer. A camera run first confirms the lateral can take one.
Drain cleaning and clog removal
Drains in 1990s and 2000s houses are PVC or ABS, so the usual clog is grease, wipes or hair rather than roots in clay. Basement rough-ins added later can hold the low point.
Sprinklers get their own rule. Ordinance No. 242, adopted in 2009, limits outdoor watering during GLWA peak hours of 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. because the township says automated irrigation drives its peak demand. A system tied to house water needs a backflow preventer; ask us about testing your specific device when you call.
Lake Huron water and copper service lines
Its water comes from the GLWA treatment plant on Lake Huron near Port Huron. Its Department of Public Works on Card Road serves about 30,000 metered customers through three master meters, two on 24 Mile and one near 21 Mile and Fairchild. That supply has been interrupted twice lately. The township was among 13 communities still under GLWA's boil-water advisory on August 13, 2022, after the 120-inch main break, and a leak on a 36-inch main on 24 Mile near North Avenue brought another advisory in early August 2023.
Copper service lines can still spring pinhole leaks or freeze where they run shallow, which is main water line repair territory.
On the sewer side, township lines feed the county's Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District, which carries flow from about 600,000 residents in 11 communities to GLWA's plant in Detroit. Your lateral is the stretch you deal with, and sewer line inspection shows its condition. A new water or sewer tap needs its own DPW permit, separate from the plumbing permit. Landmarks you might give us include Waldenburg Park, Macomb Corners Park and the old crossroads of Meade at 26 Mile and North Avenue.
Questions from Macomb Township subdivision owners
Do I have a lead service line in Macomb Township?
Very unlikely. The township says it has no lead service lines, and when it excavated 351 service lines installed before 1989 during 2024, every one was copper. It filed its inventory with EGLE on October 15, 2024. Inside the house is a separate question. Older faucets and solder may hold traces of lead, so testing at the tap is reasonable if you want certainty.
Can I pull my own plumbing permit in Macomb Township?
For your own single-family home, yes. The township plumbing permit application includes a homeowner affidavit. Inspection still applies, and nothing can be covered until the Plumbing Inspector approves it. A permit becomes invalid if work doesn't start within six months. Applications go to Building and Code Enforcement at 54111 Broughton Road.
Cities around Macomb Township we also cover
See every city we serve from Fraser · Tank or tankless for a Michigan home