Flooded basement last June on Lakewood Street near Chalmers on Detroit's east side. (Photo: CBS Detroit screenshot)
Detroit will use $15 million in federal money to help homeowners keep stormwater from gushing into basements from overloaded sewer lines, as happened extensively on the east side last June.
Moross Road basement damage last summer, shared with WDIV by a viewer.
The city will use part of its $826 million in American Rescue Plan Act pandemic relief to cover most of the cost of a backwater valve and/or sump pump in eligible houses. (Backwater valves, also known as backflow preventers or check valves, keep gross gunk from coming into a home when sewer lines fill during storms.)
Homeowner occupants and landlords in 11 neighborhoods can apply here now, the mayor announced Monday. The city expects that its contractors will upgrade 530 houses between March and July in the first phase at the Victoria Park and Aviation subdivisions.
Up to $6,000 will be spent on each property that qualifies. Resident owners will pay 10% of the cost and landlords will cover 20% for their rental houses.
"Last year's massive rainstorm overwhelmed the sewer system, and in turn identified two areas we need to work on together," Mike Duggan says in a statement. "First, how can we make the sewer system more climate-resilient and secondly, in the near term how can we help homeowners in flood-prone areas protect their property."
On June 25 and 26 last summer, 6.5 inches of rain fell over 12 hours in Metro Detroit. "Everybody remembers last June when more than 30,000 basements backed up," Duggan said at a media briefing with Gary Brown, head of the city's Water and Sewerage Department.
"Rather than a reimbursement-based subsidy program where homeowners get their own plumber," Brown says in the posted announcement, "our program provides the complete services from plumber selection to inspection to installation."
The city sketches this initial timetable for the Basement Backup and Flood Protection project:
(Graphics: City of Detroit)
Eight contractors, including five based in Detroit, will do camera inspections of sewer lateral service lines, disconnect downspouts and install extensions three feet from the foundation. Sump pumps will be installed where needed.
Another east-side basement after June's two-day deluge. (Photo: WDIV, from viewer)
If private sewer pipes are collapsed or damaged, homeowners have to pay for repairs. City contractors also won't fix basement concrete or other flooring, and homeowners will be responsible for power sources for the pumps.
Landlords can get up to 80% of the costs covered. Approved homeowners will pay a 10% deposit of the total cost in advance. The deposit will be waived if the homeowner is income-qualified through the Water Residential Assistance Program or WRAP.
Detroit's share of federal pandemic relief dollars is the fifth-largest amount among cities. It will use $400 million to offset budget shortfalls and the remaining $426 million for community investments.
► Apply here: Basement Backup and Flood Protection
