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Construction has wrapped on the first phase of Storm Water Diversion Program which is a multi-phased, multi-year project. It is expected that the construction phase of the project which is concentrated within two geographical areas of Alma will occur over a period of three years.

The first phase of the project was to install storm interceptors within the street right-of-ways in areas where storm sewers do not presently exist within two specific focus areas of the City. The installation of the new storm interceptors will provide a point of connection for homes and buildings to dispose of storm water.

Originally the City of Alma, like nearly all communities, had a single sewer system installed which conducted waste, rain water and nearly anything else that would go down the pipe to the local river for disposal. Over time the sewer system evolved into two systems, one to transport clean water from rains and ground water (storm sewers) from basement areas directly to the river for disposal and a second system to transport sewage (sanitary sewer) to a treatment plant for processing. Many of the old connections remain and in some cases continue to send rain water or ground water to the sewage treatment plant. Also in many cases, the only available sewer to connect to was sanitary sewer. On normal days this does not present any specific problems to either the sewage system or to the treatment plant, but during heavy rain storms, unusually wet weather, or during large snow melts, flows at the treatment plant can exceed plant capacity and sewer mains can be over whelmed which cause’s back-ups into basements.

The project’s history starts in 2009 with complaints from city residents of sewer backups which occurred during a heavy rain storm. The City started monitoring flows in sewer mains and sanitary sewer lift stations. The data that was collected was analyzed and a report generated which was submitted to the public and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Within the report, which presented the data regarding flows in the sewers, it also presented four possible solutions to the problem. These four possible solutions which varied from the disconnection of storm water connections in the sanitary sewer system to increasing both the size of the sanitary sewer mains in the streets and increasing the size of the sewer treatment plant. The report also indicated the estimated construction cost for each possible solution, with the least expensive one being disconnection of storm water connections to the sanitary sewers to the most expensive being to increase both the capacity of the treatment plant and the sewer mains located in the streets. The City of Alma, with the approval of MDEQ, has chosen the least expensive method to correct the problem so that we can eliminate sanitary sewer backups into resident’s basements.

The City of Alma has been named a "Tree City USA" by The National Arbor Day Foundation on an annual basis since 1985. The City has received this national recognition because of their tree planting and care efforts.

To become a "Tree City USA," a community must meet four standards: a tree board or department, a community tree ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. The City of Alma is proud to sponsor an ongoing process of growth and renewal--a program of planting and care that continues through the years.

Since 1993, the City of Alma has planted over 422 trees throughout the parks and City of Alma.
The City of Alma also performs an intensive forestry maintenance program. The program is a proactive plan, with the intended benefits of the protection of property and the safety of the public resulting from the removal of trees and limbs that pose a danger. This involves the trimming and pruning of all street trees over a five year period, primarily in the spring and late fall and is repeated every five years.

It is the City's goal to ensure all the City owned right-of-way trees will have been trimmed or pruned. The program also functions to plant young trees to replace those that are removed and supplement our existing public trees.