Plumbing in Clinton Township covers a wider spread of housing than most places we drive to. The township has about 100,500 residents, more than any other township in Michigan, and its building peaked in the 1970s, when more than 10,000 of today's roughly 46,700 homes went up. About a quarter of those homes sit in buildings with five or more units, about 2,100 are manufactured homes, and a third of households rent. One week can bring a 1970s colonial's water heater, an apartment building's backflow assembly and a soaked basement near the Clinton River. We reach the township on Groesbeck Highway from our office on Stephens Rd in Warren.
What 1970s and 1980s township housing means for the pipes
The median home here was built in 1980. The 1970s added 10,123 of today's homes and the 1980s another 8,190, while fewer than 6,800 predate 1960. Homes from those two decades typically have copper supply lines, cast iron or plastic drains, and basements with a sump pit. By now most are on their second or third water heater, and original copper of that age can start to pinhole, most often on the hot lines.
The older pipe sits in the pre-1975 neighborhoods. The township aimed its sewer-lateral pilot program at vitrified clay laterals under homes built in 1974 or earlier, which tells you where the clay is. If you're in one of those houses and the basement drain gurgles, start with a camera, not a shovel.
The other half of the housing changes the work. About 8,100 homes are attached condos or townhouses and 11,600 sit in buildings of five or more units, where baths stack over one another and a leak can reach the unit below before anyone sees it. The township's 2,100 manufactured homes are a different case again, with supply lines running under the floor behind skirting, where January cold reaches them first.
Services for township condos, apartments and 1970s basements
- Water heater installation
Most 1970s and 1980s homes are on a second or third tank by now. A swap is the time to check the expansion tank, the venting and the old copper stubs that feed the heater.
- Leak detection and repair
Copper supply in the township’s 1970s and 1980s homes is old enough to pinhole, and in a condo the first sign is often a stain in the unit below. We find the source before opening a shared wall.
- Sump pump installation and repair
Basement subdivisions rely on sump pits, and the Department of Public Services inspects any new, repaired or rerouted discharge line before it is buried, with at least a day’s notice.
- Battery backup sump pumps
A spring thaw or a Clinton River storm can bring the heaviest pumping and a power outage together. A battery unit keeps a second pump running in the pit without drawing on the water meter.
- Backflow prevention and testing
Clinton Township runs a cross-connection control program, so businesses and irrigation systems need assemblies installed right and tested by a certified tester. Its Water and Sewer Division does the inspections.
- Plumbing for landlords and property managers
With a third of households renting and thousands of apartment units, owners and managers need repairs scheduled around tenants and a clear note of which unit’s pipe failed.
The Clinton River, the 1947 flood and sanitary overflows
The Clinton River forms from its three branches inside the township and runs east to Lake St. Clair. Its April 1947 flood was the highest known in decades, and since 1951 the Clinton River Cut-Off Canal has carried flood water straight to the lake. The township has spent $30 million expanding its sanitary sewer system to keep overflows out of the river, and in 2024 the board formally criticized Oakland County for releasing combined sewage into it through the Red Run Drain.
For a house, the lesson is to keep clean water out of the sanitary line. Sump discharge has to go where township standards allow, and the Department of Public Services checks new or moved lines before backfill. A sump pump that cycles through a spring thaw needs a sound check valve and a discharge that leaves the house, and a battery backup covers the storms that knock out power.
Hoover Road, I-696 and Groesbeck to a township basement
From Stephens Rd we head up Hoover Road to I-696, go east to Groesbeck Highway and follow it north past Fraser into the township. Clinton Township is toward the north end of the area we cover, so we group calls there and phone ahead with a window instead of promising an arrival time. In a 1970s house, we check the water heater’s age, venting and shutoff, then the sump pit and where its discharge goes. In an apartment or rental, we confirm the owner or manager has approved the work before anything gets opened. Permits and plumbing inspections run through the township Building Department at the Civic Center.
Township landmarks from the civic center to the river
- Civic Center, 40700 Romeo Plank Road: township offices and the Building Department.
- Groesbeck Highway at Metropolitan Parkway, the major crossing just before M-97 bridges the Clinton River.
- George George Memorial Park.
- The Mall at Partridge Creek.
- Clinton-Macomb Public Library.
- Chippewa Valley, Clintondale and L’Anse Creuse schools, three of the five districts that serve the township.
Those places span a township big enough to need five school districts and two water suppliers. A 1990s condo and a 1950s ranch can sit a short drive apart here, and they fail in different ways. The Civic Center on Romeo Plank is also where DPS takes sump-line inspection requests, Monday through Friday. Groesbeck at Metropolitan Parkway sits just south of where M-97 crosses the Clinton River, and the commercial strips around it fall under the township’s cross-connection program.
Getting to our office from Clinton Township
Take Groesbeck Highway south from Metropolitan Parkway past Fraser to I-696, go west to the Hoover Road exit, then south on Hoover to Stephens Road in Warren.
11355 Stephens Rd, Warren, MI 48089
Get directions to our Warren officeClinton Township plumbing questions
Where does Clinton Township's drinking water come from?
The township's 2026 water report says it buys water from the Great Lakes Water Authority and the City of Mount Clemens. The GLWA share comes from the Detroit River and Lake Huron plants. The township runs the mains, and its Department of Public Services handles water questions, including lead.
Do businesses in Clinton Township need backflow testing?
Yes. The township has a cross-connection control program, and its Water and Sewer Division performs cross-connection inspections. Testing is done by a certified tester. We can install or repair the assembly on your water service and get it ready for the test.
How do I keep pipes from freezing under a manufactured home in Clinton Township?
Keep the skirting intact, insulate the supply line where it runs under the floor, and make sure any heat tape on the riser is plugged in and working before the first hard freeze. With about 2,100 manufactured homes in the township, that riser where the line leaves the ground is the usual trouble spot. If a line has already frozen, our guide to thawing frozen pipes safely covers the next steps.
Have a plumbing problem in Clinton Township? Tell us the address and what's happening.
(207) 419-2600Near Clinton Township
- Plumber in Sterling HeightsLarge basement subdivisions north of 14 Mile Road
- Plumber in FraserCompact city that Groesbeck clips between 13 and 14 Mile
- Plumber in RosevillePostwar homes along Groesbeck where it meets I-696
- Plumber in St. Clair ShoresLakeshore city of 1950s homes and canals off Jefferson
- Macomb CountyThe county whose largest township this is
See every city we serve around Warren · More Macomb County cities · Plumbing checklist for landlords between tenants · How often to flush a water heater and why sediment matters
Last updated October 25, 2026