Sewer Break Near Cass Road Causes Backup, Repair Crews Mobilized

A neighbor's backed-up sewer line Sunday morning turned out to be the first sign of a break in a decades-old clay main running beneath one of Traverse City's busiest stretches of road. Grand Traverse County Department of Public Works crews identified the failure at approximately 11:56 a.m. on March 22 after a nearby customer reported the backup, tracing the problem to a blocked downstream sewer main near the intersection of Cass Road and South Airport Road.

The affected line is a 12-inch diameter clay main installed in the 1970s. It serves properties along north and south Cass Road and portions of East South Airport Road, making a fast repair critical to preventing additional backups across that service area.

DPW mobilized staff and contracted with Elmer's Crane and Dozer to remove the blockage and begin repairs. DPW Superintendent Kent Nothstine acknowledged the work won't be easy. "The site is challenging, given depth to excavation, presence of multiple utilities and a heavily trafficked corridor," Nothstine said. "We apologize for the traffic impacts, but this is an essential utility that requires repairs to be implemented ASAP."

What caused the break remains unknown. Investigators are also examining whether it connects to corrective repairs performed on the same line last year, though DPW said it is still working to obtain that information and will provide updates as they develop.

Despite the overflow, officials reported no evidence the leak reached Boardman Lake, the Boardman River, or associated watersheds. Still, out of an abundance of caution, the DPW reported the incident to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and to the Grand Traverse County Health Department Environmental Health Division as a sanitary sewer overflow event.

No timeline for completing repairs has been announced, and no estimate of costs or number of affected customers has been released. The investigation into the root cause continues.