Clinton River continues to flood Metro Detroit neighborhood
The rain is finally coming to an end for much of Michigan, but the impact of these storms over the past few days remains in many areas in Metro Detroit, like on Davis Drive in Utica, where dealing with floods has become a way of life.
"Back then, it was not very frequent, and then it seems that within the last five to six years, it's been more frequent. At least once a year," Timothy Wright told CBS Detroit.
Wright's parents' house is just feet from the Clinton River, and he said that it has become an unfortunate bullseye for flood waters every single time there's a big rain storm.
"You gotta check the weather, you gotta move the cars because that's the main thing, the water flooding out a car. We've lost a car here before," said Wright.
But while certain neighborhoods like the one in Utica remain prone to flooding, Macomb County Public Works officials tell a different story about the rest of the county.
"We have spent literally millions of dollars in the last 10 years in Macomb County cleaning out our drains all over," said Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller.
Miller told CBS Detroit on Thursday that the rainfall over the last couple of days did not result in substantial flooding or major road closures compared to other nearby counties. It was in large part because of the department's drain maintenance efforts, logjam removals, and major underground infrastructure projects.
"I'm not saying we're perfect and we certainly have a long way to go and improvements to be made, but we feel really good today watching what's happening around us and knowing that so far so good in Macomb County," said Miler.
But it's in those hardest hit areas where the Clinton River continues to be heard from.
"I don't know how the rest of the people deal with it.. It seems like everyone accepts it, though," said Wright.