There are certain portions of metro Detroit that are sadly more prone to flooding than others. One of those areas is the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood on Detroit's east side.
Flooding has been an issue for the neighborhood sine the 1950s, and as recently as 2021, the city received nearly 30,000 complaints.
Now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is stepping in to help.
The Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood just received $11.2 million in grant money to replace 18,800 feet of the nearly 100-year-old mains. The new sewer lines will protect nearly 600 homes from flooding.
"I don't want to say expect this but when you live in this area it can happen," Richard Belloni said when asked about the flooding.
"It was definitely my first time experiencing a flood like that. I literally opened my door to my basement and looked down and just shut it again because I was so shocked at the level of water," Alison Heeres said.
Heeres could not get to the restaurant she owns, Coriander Kitchen and Farm, because Alter Rd. was flooded out.
The thought of heavy rain makes the residents pray their basements don't flood like they did back on June 24, 2021.
That's when disaster struck and it was a mess for thousands of people, including Belloni and Heeres.
"It was really wild and it really kind of shut down you know life for everyone for about a week. Everyone was cleaning out their basements," Heeres said.
Belloni has lived in the neighborhood for most of his life. He's experienced floods and has had to throw out family photos, but he said he wouldn't change it for the world.
"I like living here so I deal with it. I mean as soon as you get over the bridge, I am in a different spot. It's kind of like going up north," Belloni said.
Residents had to put up sand bags and raise their sea wall, and the city installed what are called tiger dams to help prevent the flooding.
"As we look at the Jefferson Chalmers Area. since 2016 quite a bit of work inspecting and assessing," Sam Smalley, the COO of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, said.
The city has been repairing lines, improving them, and cleaning them out, but they're still a long way away to making sure the system is 100% improved.
Smalley said the $11.2 million in grant money from FEMA will help them achieve goals in the future like keeping sewage out of basements and canals, stormwater out of the sewer system and preventing future flooding.
According to Smalley, the upgrades are vital and will help increase flow and fix crumbling infrastructure. He said property owners also need to help out with roots and disconnecting issues causing flooding, too.
"We're doing a lot of work on our system. The property owner has the private sewer lateral that goes all the way to the point of connection. That point of connection is just as old as the sewer system," he said.
For Heeres, she loves the neighborhood.
"I hope that with the combination with this FEMA money and as residents in Jefferson Chalmers hope, we can keep working with the city and the state on how to figure out how to preserve these canals," she said.
The timeline for completing the project is still up in the air.
