Environment

Duggan says new rules needed to prevent future ground shifts in southwest Detroit

September 21, 2021, 3:30 PM

The city of Detroit may consider new weight regulations for storage facilities as it appears a heavy metal storage site played a role in the earth's shifting in Southwest Detroit last week, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said during an interview with Crain's Detroit.

Officials have not yet given indication of what caused the road to buckle and a portion of a dispensary to topple, prompting a community group to seek a precautionary evacuation order. 

Speaking from the Mackinac Policy Conference, Duggan declined to provide specifics but said, "we have a good idea what the cause is and it's something that could potentially recur in other areas of southwest Detroit and so our focus is how do we identify this earlier." 

Duggan called it the second major soil issue in SW Detroit in three years, referencing the 2019 Revere Dock collapse along the riverfront that threatened to contaminate an area upstream from a drinking water intake.

To prevent future issues, Duggan said the city would need to "change some ordinances relative to weight storage and the like."

He said on-site crews have drilled 100 feet down to "really understanding everything about the soil conditions," adding "you need a combination of soft soil a lot of concentrated pressure." 

Crain's reports the investigation into the cause is ongoing and a final analysis may not come for more than a week.


Read more:  Crain's Detroit Business


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