DETROIT (WXYZ) — Director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and the Chief Operating Officer for the Wastewater Operating Services, Great Lakes Water Authority held a press conference Saturday to update residents on the flood response throughout the city.
Friday night, several Metro Detroit areas were hit hard by heavy raining leading to flooded basements, freeways, and streets.
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“With this much rain, there’s nowhere else for the water to go other than flooding streets and basements," Director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Gary Brown said.
During the conference, Brown said the intensity of the storms exceeded the design standard for pump stations and sewer overflow facilities in the Detroit region.
All the systems are currently working at maximum capacity.
"Our infrastructure needs to be more resilient to meet these weather changes," Brown said.
Brown said once the rain stops, there will be an investigation on the systems operations.
Until then, the city of Detroit is encouraging all residents who have been impacted by the heavy rains to file a claim by calling 313-267-8000.
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Per state law, these claims must be made within 45 days from the day you've suffered damage.
The rain is expected to continue into this weekend.
Read more: Metro Detroit Forecast: Flood Watch until 4 AM Sunday
"If we get one inch of rain we'll be just fine," Brown said. "If we get three inches of rain it's going to be a problem with the ground being as saturated as it is and the systems being able to handle that."
DWSD and the Great Lake water authority said they are strategizing on how to maximize the city infrastructure, but continued flooding is all dependent on the amount of rain and its intensity.
