DETROIT (WXYZ) — Millions of dollars set to help Detroit's Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood combat chronic flooding is now uncertain as the Trump administration considers cuts to FEMA programs.
Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report:
The $11.3 million federal grant, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was designated to enlarge sewers in the Jefferson Chalmers area. The funding is now in limbo as the new administration reviews FEMA spending.
Residents in Jefferson Chalmers have battled flooding issues for decades, with many losing personal belongings and facing repeated basement damage from sewage backups.
"My basement last had sewage and water, and it came through the windows," Jocelyn Fitzpatrick-Harris said.
Fitzpatrick-Harris has lived in the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood since 1971.
In 2021, she lost everything in her basement when flooding hit the area after the nearby Connor Creek pump station became overwhelmed during heavy rainfall.
FEMA awarded the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood the $11.3 million grant in 2023 to expand sewer capacity in the flood-prone area.
"Finally, we get some money to address a major issue that we as residents do not have the ability to address," Fitzpatrick-Harris said when she first learned about the funding.
The grant money now sits in uncertainty as the Trump administration evaluates cuts to the FEMA program that was providing the funds.
"With the situation as it exists, we have no guarantees, we have no peace about whether our basements will be full of sewage and flooding again or now," Fitzpatrick-Harris said.
Anthony Adams, a former deputy mayor who moved to the neighborhood eight years ago, believes this is an opportunity for local and federal lawmakers to collaborate on resolving the flooding crisis.
"This is about housing preservation, this is about neighborhood growth and development," Adams said.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provided a statement regarding the uncertain funding status: "We remain cautiously optimistic the funds will be released, and we are committed to enhancing flood mitigation in our city with projects such as this improvement."
For longtime residents like Fitzpatrick-Harris, the wait continues.
"I pray that in my lifetime, I will see these major issues addressed," Fitzpatrick-Harris said.
Residents must now wait to learn the fate of the critical infrastructure funding as federal budget decisions unfold.
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