DETROIT (WXYZ) — Several residents on Prevost Street on Detroit's west side continue to deal with flooding from this week's heavy rain.
At least two homeowners said they got about 4 feet of water in their basements.
“And that’s a sign of the blockage," Mark Anderson said.
He reached out 7 News Detroit for a problem he said he’s been dealing with for about two decades but never this bad.
Before the water rose several feet, he said he called the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department for help.
“They gave me an order number and somebody should be out. They say it’s 72 hours. Well, it had got bad the next day, so bad the next day, I called ‘em again. I say this done destroyed my furnace, this done destroyed my hot water tank and I just put that in less than six months," Anderson explained.
His neighbor, Irene Crowder, told 7 News Detroit she also called the city and is waiting for someone to come out.
“Helpless — I feel very helpless," she said.
She said she's lived in her home 50 years and that the recurrence in more recent years prompted her to get a sump pump. However, she said it feels like a losing battle getting a long-term fix.
“And I’m 87 years old, and this is a discomfort because I’ve fallen. So, I can’t go down those steps," Crowder said.
Watch our coverage of flooding in Dearborn Heights from this week's rain in the video below:
Anderson said, “They should be accountable for this. I shouldn’t have to deal with it. She shouldn’t have to deal with it.”
Residents believe there’s a problem in the city sewer system around the home — some type of clog causing the backup.
A note from Anderson's plumber states the plumber lifted a manhole cover, found it filled nearly to the lid and noted it as a "city problem."
“I was told years ago when I moved here from a neighbor back here. They say (the city) broke a snake up in there. When they broke that snake up in there, that’s when they had these problems where they basements started flooding in this kind of manner," Anderson explained.
When 7 News Detroit told Anderson that DWSD said the broken drain snake issue has long been resolved, he said, "I would ask for proof. I would ask for proof because we still got the results.”
A spokesman for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department told 7 News Detroit not only had the broken drain snake issue long been resolved, the department said the sewer has been cleaned multiple times since then. That includes during the most recent cleaning cycle.
"The majority of basement backups are caused by large rain events or private sewer issues," DWSD spokesman Bryan Peckinpaugh said.
He said a technician will go to the neighborhood and residents are encouraged apply to the private sewer repair program.
"This is unacceptable. This needs to be addressed and immediately," Anderson said.
