DETROIT'S EAST SIDE (WXYZ) — We've been monitoring the progress through the weekend, as crews work on a massive sinkhole on Detroit's east side.
Here's what it looked like on Friday, compared to what we're seeing this morning.
The city tells us they first learned about it earlier this summer. Neighbors say it's been causing major problems for their homes for months now.
Watch our full report from the morning show
The sink hole is a little closer to being filled in as the city's Water and Sewage Department works to replace the 24-inch, more than 100-year-old sewer. Residents around this alley say that century-old pipe caused basement backups the last couple years.
Watch our previous coverage from Friday
The city is investigating to see if this is the source of their troubles.
"Everytime it rains, it rains heavy, it goes into the basement and it fills up. And then I had to buy a furnace-not a furnace but a hot water tank," said Alice Sinclair, a resident who had to pay $500 on repairs.
The Water and Sewage Department says they first learned about the collapsed sewer line in mid-April. Evacuation and repairs started on Friday. Alice and other residents living around the alley between Knodell and Edgewood say the sink hole started forming around two years ago.
They also say that's when their sewers started backing up.
DWSD's Brian Peckinpaugh says they put a camera down the collapsed sewer, finding it's not directly connected to any houses or businesses in the area and shouldn't impact basements. But they acknowledge the collapsed pipe is connected to other pipes with direct links to homes and could cause water back up.
"There’s another sewer shortly behind it in the same area on Edgewood where the houses are connected to a 12-inch sewer," Brian said. "If there’s any concerns from residents we’ll address those concerns. We’ll Investigate. See what the cause is of their basement backup. And help them resolve it either if it’s our sewer or if it’s caused by their private sewer. The city does have a private repair program."
DTE also weighed in on this repair since a utility pole is right on the edge of this sink hole. If you live in this area and think the collapsed sewer caused water to back up into your basement, you can file a damages claim with DWSD at this link.
