Ending what amounted to be a 61-year general stalemate among area officials, the development known as “Mini Sewer” finally broke ground on June 17, 1985, following acceptance of minor contract amendments in February and March of that year.  The system would service many of Downriver’s southern communities including Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Huron Township, Romulus, South Rockwood, Van Buren Township and Woodhaven.  The project, stated as being ahead of schedule as of January 1986, was due to have Phase One complete by 1988. 

The overall agreement did not come easily, as Gibraltar and Huron Township both balked as some of the earlier amendment proposals.  In addition, a group known as FLUSH (Friends Looking Upstream for Sewer Help), led by activist Sarah Jane Privatera, filed a lawsuit in federal court that would challenge the project.