DETROIT (WXYZ) — More than 200 people took to the water this weekend in Jefferson-Chalmers in a flotilla protest against a revived plan to close off canals in their neighborhood.
The city of Detroit is moving forward with a $20 million HUD CDBG-DR grant project aimed at addressing severe flooding and removing the area's floodplain designation. The plan to close canals has drawn fierce opposition from residents who say it would destroy their way of life and hurt property values.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report below:
Blake Grannum-Wesson said her neighborhood would suffer if city officials move forward with the canal closure plan.
"Having sitting water in the canal raises so many issues, plus it's gonna drop property value down," Grannum-Wesson said.
Resident Frank Raines said he does not believe the plan will work.
"I think it's ridiculous. I don't think it's going to help anything," Raines said.
Resident Jay Juergensen said closing canals would leave the community vulnerable as it would not remove the neighborhood from the flood zone.
"Even if stop logs and flood walls are put in place, they'll only be put in a few places. The entire community is at risk," Juergensen said.
Juergensen also pointed to a separate flooding source as a major concern.
"The second problem is that we actually experience as much flooding from the combined sewage overflow at the headwaters of Fox Creek. So the three communities Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe city and Grosse Pointe Farms immediately to our east in heavy rains, their sewage is discharged into our backyards, and so we will see as much as a 3 feett rise in 30 minutes," Juergensen said.
Intense flooding in recent years prompted FEMA to redraw its flood map for the neighborhood. The city dropped the canal closure plan in 2022 after residents pushed back, but it has since returned to the table.
Resident Traci Rubin said closing the canals would devastate local businesses.
"People make money down here. Their jobs are on the water. We have boat rentals. We have a restaurant. We have bait shops. All that is gone," Rubin said.
Resident Joe Kaled said the canals are central to why people choose to live in the neighborhood.
"It'd be like a marshy muck. And I'll come right out and tell you I did not move over here just for the scenery. I moved here for the canal," Kaled said.
Residents say there is another option: improving or hardening the shorelines along the canals.
Juergensen said the neighborhood's extensive shoreline makes that approach viable.
"Our neighborhood is only about a mile and a quarter square, but we have 10 miles of shoreline, and all of those elements of the shoreline need to be brought to a particular height and hardened in order to remove us from the floodplain," Juergensen said.
He said residents believe that solution is both environmentally sound and cost-effective.
"We believe that that's in the best interest of the neighborhood. It's the best environmental solution. It's also the least expensive," Juergensen said.
The city of Detroit says it is proceeding with the project. Phase one will involve hiring a project manager to interact directly with concerned parties. Phase two will consist of a feasibility study to determine options for solving both the canal overtopping flooding problem and removing the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood from FEMA floodplain designation. The city says feasibility of stop-log and seawall concepts previously identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may also need to be examined. The city adds that no construction activities will take place without full approvals by the administration, city council, and appropriate regulatory agencies.
Grannum-Wesson said she is urging the city to find a better path forward.
"I know I have faith that you guys can come up with a better idea. I know you guys can do better," Grannum-Wesson said. "And we have all voted and hired you in to come up with a more creative idea that doesn't hurt our neighborhood."
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