A suburban Detroit, Mich., county has reached a $12.5 million settlement over a disastrous sinkhole that ruined three homes and temporarily displaced 20 families during the 2016 holiday season, officials said Tuesday.
The money will be paid by an insurance company for three contractors whose mistakes caused the mess, said Candice Miller, the Macomb County public works commissioner.
The sinkhole in Fraser was approximately the size of a football field. Three nearby homes were condemned, including two that were demolished.
Experts found that a sewer line cracked and eventually collapsed on Christmas Eve 2016 after a “tsunami of sewage” was released too rapidly into the system during a repair in 2014. The waste should have been released over hours but was let go in seven minutes.
It cost $75 million for a bypass and a new sewer pipe after the sinkhole, Miller said.
The Macomb Interceptor serves more than 500,000 residents and businesses in 11 communities in Macomb County.
Bonds were sold to pay for the project, with each house paying about $25 a year for 25 years.
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