Watch CBS News

Massive $8.6 Million Stormwater Project Will Help Reduce Floods In A Westside Detroit Neighborhood

(CBS DETROIT)- After major flooding impacted homes in the Aviation neighborhood on Detroit's Westside, neighbors asked the city for assistance. Now a completed project will help minimize any future flooding's.

"It's been a long time coming, the flood harmed a lot of houses in this area," said Department of Neighborhoods for the city of Detroit District 7 manager Mona Ali.

Ali grew up in the area of Oakman Blvd. near Tireman. She recalls her family's home as well many others in the area experiencing significant flooding during a storm in 2014 and 2016.

Since that time the city has designated millions to reduce street and home flooding throughout the city, including a project on Oakman Blvd.

"We looked at the data and we looked at the infrastructure in this area and tried to think of a creative thing we could do to minimize the impact of rain events for this specific neighborhood," said Palencia Mobley, Deputy Director and Chief Engineer Detroit Department of Water and Sewerage.

Mobley says, the outcome was a massive stormwater project that consists of 10 bioretention gardens placed in the medians.

On Tuesday using water from a fire hydrant, the city demonstrated how the project works during a rain event.

"Once it reaches here it's going to infatuate, it has an engineered soil, kind of a compost and top soil mix to help absorb more water," said Barry Brown,DWSD Stormwater Engineer and Project Manager.

The plants will also help absorb more water. The city says this project not only helps reduce flooding, but also beautifies Detroit neighborhoods

© 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.