Clawson’s Housing Stock — Why Older Infrastructure Matters

Clawson is a small city — just under 3 square miles — bordered by Troy to the north, Royal Oak to the south and west, and Madison Heights to the east. Its residential character closely resembles Royal Oak’s: densely built postwar bungalows and ranch homes on modest lots, with a mature tree canopy that has had six decades to establish root systems in and around aging clay sewer infrastructure.

Most of Clawson’s residential sewer laterals were installed when the homes were built in the 1950s and 1960s — clay tile pi