Detroit neighborhood benefitting from new drainage system aimed at stopping flooding in the area
(CBS DETROIT) - The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has brought some much-needed relief to a neighborhood in the area of Oakman Boulevard that has been prone to flooding.
The relief has come in the form of the Oakman Boulevard Stormwater Project.
City officials say construction on the stormwater system began in 2020 to address a large amount of flooding and basement backups that occurred in the area in 2014.
Lisa Wallick with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says the system has made a big difference and explained how it works.
"So if I'm getting the stormwater into this practice where it can be absorbed by the ground or even into the subsurface storage where it'll be held back during the storm and then leaked slowly into the combined sewer after the storm," said Wallick. "I'm helping to free up capacity in that combined sewer system, which will then alleviate it from becoming too full to the point where it's going in people's basements."
Wallick said the project cost about $8 million.