Department of Public Works

YARD WASTE & BRUSH PICK-UP

Tree limbs between 1 inch and up to 4 inches in diameter will be chipped by the Village DPW on the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of the month from April through October.  Branches can be placed out in full length with the cut ends facing the street stacked neatly.  All brush with roots must be free of dirt and stones.  The Village will not pick up whole tree cuttings.  The Village is not responsible for large amounts of brush from tree trimming, tree removal, or clearing of property. The DPW or OEO may tag your property if an excessive amount of brush is left at the road for DPW to chip. Property owners should contact a tree service for excessive brush removal. 

Yard waste will be picked up by Emterra Environmental, April through November on the normal collection day. The last day for collection will be the last collection day in November.   Yard waste such as grass trimmings, leaves, and small sticks must be placed in biodegradable paper bags or in a trash container marked with a large X.  Branches less than 2” in diameter must be bundled. Bundles and yard waste containers cannot exceed 40 lbs. Yard waste in plastic bags will not be picked up. 

 The Village DPW picks up leaves raked to the curb ONLY IN THE FALL.  The last day for leaves will be The Monday before Thanksgivig or the first snow, whichever comes first.

  Any questions please contact the Village office at : 810-798-8528

Potential Dangers of Autumn Leaves

Wet leaves on the road surface can make stopping difficult, and piles of leaves can obscure potholes, curbs, and street markings. Please do not rake or pile your leaves onto the roadway. Pile them neatly at the curb for DPW to remove. It is especially dangerous if we get an early snow before leaves can be removed.

Debris blown into our roadways can also clog our storm drains.

How can you help?

·        Only place your leaves at the curb (not in the roadway). Residents will be notified to remove their leaves from the roadway.

·        If you know there will be a storm or possibly an early snow: bag your leaves for Emterra to remove on scheduled garbage days. Wet heavy leaves are a potential danger and difficult for our machinery to remove. DPW has a limited number of trucks and the same trucks are used for leaf removal as well as snow plowing. Once the snow starts falling they are unable to easily convert their trucks back for leaf removal and snow removal takes precedence.

·        Leaf removal ends on the Monday before Thanksgiving or the first snow whichever comes first for DPW.

·        Leaf pickup ends on the last garbage day in November for Emterra.

Steps to address water quality in buildings closed due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused many southeast Michigan businesses and facilities to shut their doors and suspend operations for an unprecedented length of time. In a moment with no shortage of things to worry about, the impact that this shutdown can have on the quality of the water sitting stagnant within building pipes may not be at the top of the public’s list. However, when the economy reopens it will be the responsibility of individual building managers to mitigate these impacts on the water quality in their premise plumbing.

A simple and effective way to purge the water that has been sitting stagnant inside of a building’s plumbing for days, weeks, or even months is to open all the water taps and let the water run freely. Hot water tanks may need to be flushed separately; instructions can be found on the GLWA website here. Flushing the system forcibly removes rust, corrosion byproducts, or particulates, and replaces the potentially degraded water with fresh and recently treated water from the local main supply. For buildings and businesses that are accustomed to seasonal or intermittent use, flushing may already be part of a regular maintenance routine. But for others that have never been continuously shuttered for more than a day or two, people may not be aware of the potential danger posed by stagnant water, or of the steps that need to be taken to ensure water quality.

While GLWA and Member Partners maintain water quality within regional and local distribution systems, once that water leaves a main line and enters the pipes in individual customers’ buildings, the responsibility rests on the building’s owner or occupier. However, by spreading the message about the critical importance of flushing pipes in newly reopened buildings and providing further information on best practices, we can continue to support our communities even after we have fulfilled our obligation of delivering the highest quality water. 

Each building is different, so plumbing system needs and flushing best practices will vary based on their size, configuration, condition, and type of usage. Regardless of these specifics, flushing is an easy best practice that can and should be applied before returning to normal operations anywhere that water has been sitting unused for a prolonged period.