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| The Highland Park Water Treatment Plant |
A small, beautifully detailed brick building sits at the farthest most corner of Highland Park's southwest border. As one exits the Davidson going west and rise to merge onto I-75, a quick glance to the right reveals an out of place elderly building with a hat of clay tile and trimmed by gutters coated with the light green patina of age. Large reservoirs of water collect behind. Like strands of gray hair, streaks of rust coat the white barbwire topped reservoir walls which at ground level resemble those found at a prison courtyard. But these walls hold pools of water pumped from an underground water system that begins at Lake St. Clair, runs across Grosse Point Farms, regains momentum at a small pumping station at Houston and Filbert Streets, and finally exits at the Highland Park Water Treatment Plant found at 13512 Dequindre Street.
Envisioned by Henry Ford as servicing 60,000 people and two mighty auto manufacturers, it today services a population of just under 17,000 and neither auto manufacturer. The over grown shrubs, rusting fencing and motionless vehicles that sit within the complex reflect the decay of just another Highland Park institution. A reminder of a city that grew as fast as it currently declines. If goes without saying that its future remains uncertain.
[UPDATE: It was
announced on 12/4/12 that the plant has shut down indefinitely for repairs. The City of Detroit is now supplying Highland Park's water.]
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A 30" pipeline runs from a pumping station in
Grosse Pointe Farms to the Reservoir in Highland Park |
Links to more information on the Highland Park Water Department:
1.
Six Mile/Dequindre Housing Project at Discuss Detroit
2.
A Visit to the Highland Park Water Treatment Plant at Highland Park Michigan Block Clubs
