Clinton River Watershed Council outlines Watertowns green‑infrastructure plan for downtown Mount Clemens

The Clinton River Watershed Council presented the Watertowns green‑infrastructure package to the Mount Clemens City Commission, offering conceptual site plans, cost estimates and digital design files the city can use at no cost.

The presentation, led by Executive Director Anne Barra and Don Carpenter of Lawrence Technological University, explained that Watertowns — formed in 2013 with Erb Family Foundation funding — pairs stormwater treatment with placemaking to improve river access and water quality. "My name is Anne Barra, and I'm the executive director of the Clinton River Watershed Council," Barra said, introducing the program and the local project work. Don Carpenter emphasized the advisory nature of the designs: "Nothing I say tonight, you're required to do. These are just suggestions, recommendations, things you might wanna consider."

Carpenter described the project scope for Mount Clemens as a set of retrofit recommendations focused on the downtown core around Macomb Place, Cherry Street and a rear alley. The team presented ten candidate sites with modular options — permeable brick pavers and stormwater planter boxes on Cherry Street, bioretention cells by the mall crosswalk, and tree box filters and below‑grade French drains for Macomb Place. For one Cherry Street stretch, Carpenter estimated a contracted installation cost of about $43,000; the full set of proposed measures was estimated at roughly $155,000 and, as presented, would capture an estimated 25,000 gallons of runoff for each rainfall event up to two inches. Carpenter converted that to an approximate cost-per-gallon figure in the presentation materials and noted the figures assume fully contracted labor, which communities can lower by using volunteers or municipal crews.

Barra highlighted Watertowns' mini‑grant incentive: "Now that you've done this, you're eligible for a $5,000 mini grant next year. You must match it at least 1 to 1," she said. The match may be cash or in‑kind; the Council said projects can be phased and the program helps cities be 'shovel ready' for additional grant opportunities.

Presenters reviewed local precedents — Clarkston, Clinton Township and Rochester Hills — where mini‑grants, private philanthropy and volunteer labor supported rain gardens and river buffers. In response to commissioner questions, Carpenter explained how roof runoff would be routed into stormwater planters (inlet/overflow design with an engineered overflow to prevent street backup), how plant palettes would shift from high‑maintenance ornamentals to native, salt‑tolerant species, and that design choices should be coordinated with DPW for winter operations and salt management. On design standards, he said the plans were prepared for a 2.26‑inch (roughly 2‑year) storm and are intended mainly to capture the first inch or two of runoff where most pollutant loading occurs.

The Watertowns deliverable to the city includes a final report, Excel cost files, a USB drive and two poster boards. Next steps discussed: the city can prioritize individual sites, pursue the $5,000 matching mini‑grant, and use the provided materials to seek additional funding or integrate projects into capital improvement planning. Presenters closed by thanking the commission and members of the public for questions; they offered to help the city update cost sheets as contracts or in‑kind contributions change.