DETROIT (WXYZ) — Some residents on Detroit's east side say they've been dealing with flooding issues for years, with water pooling on Cadillac Avenue between Shoemaker and Edsel Ford after rainfall.
"It's not a good situation at all," said Michelle Owens, a Detroit resident.
Owens, who lives on the flooded street, says her neighborhood is fed up with the recurring flooding.
"It just looks like a body of water. Like you're standing on Jefferson or something. Like you can just come on your porch and just fish," said Mario White, another Detroit resident.
Owens believes that when the city repaved the road a couple of years ago, they paved over a sewage drain, causing flooding every time it rains.
Web extra: Michelle Owens on flooded street
7 News Detroit checked out the neighborhood Tuesday morning and saw a massive puddle of water taking up most of the street. After contacting the city, a crew came by with heavy machinery to drain it. They lifted the catch basin and started breaking up what appeared to be a thick substance.
"DPW has looked into it. They said they don't have a record of having paved over. Our records, dating back to 2018, just indicate that it's a blocked basin," said Sam Smalley, Deputy Director of Detroit Water and Sewerage.
Smalley says it's most likely sediment that accumulated in the catch basin, but he acknowledges that neighbors are right to be frustrated.
"They have called us at least 6 times since 2022. We were able to get one side clean in 2023, but we didn't get the other side clean. We had a contractor out there in February of 2024. They didn't finish the job. We knew it wasn't finished, but we have crews out there right now, and we're going to stay on it until we're fixed," Smalley said.
Web extra: DWSD talks about drain issue
Other neighbors say that when it floods, it makes it difficult to use the sidewalk or get in and out of their houses. They point out that one resident has dealt with flooding in his basement.
When asked if the flooded street was causing water in the resident's basement, the city said that's a separate issue.
"Water in basements are usually very different from flooded streets or flooded alleys because those are separate piping systems. But if anyone has a water in basement complaint, please give us a call. We will investigate that immediately," Smalley said.
Smalley says the city cleaned 6,000 catch basins last year, and the plan is to clean even more this year. He also says the Department is going to do more to prevent similar problems in the city.
By Tuesday afternoon, DWSD told us both basins on Cadillac Avenue were fully cleaned and taking water.
"Thank you to Channel 7 for amplifying this. It's something that we should have addressed prior to this. The team's going to scour through our records and make sure that there's no other issues like this lurking out there," Smalley said.
———————————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
