Waterlogged Nightmare Could Soon Be Over For Residents In Flooded Dearborn Heights Neighborhood
DEARBORN HEIGHTS (WWJ) - Dearborn Heights residents are used to it -- the constant flooding of their city street after rainfall. But now, the city says that waterlogged nightmare may soon be over.
Only about an inch of rain fell in metro Detroit on Thursday but it was just enough for the Ecorse River to overflow and flood Hanover Street, located in a neighborhood near Telegraph and Van Born roads.
It's a problem residents like Troy Brown, who has lived on the street since 1999, have dealt with for years. He jokingly calls the street "Lake Hanover."
"I have actually given boat rides," he said. "One year I actually put a sign out, 25 cent boat rides, and actually some people took me up on it."
Other residents call it a toilet bowl.
"Last time it was really, it had a real sewage smell to it," said Brown. "This time, not so much but last time it was obvious."
Residents sued the city back in 2010 and there's currently a consent agreement in place with the city, but Brown said nothing has happened.
"They had the legal grounds to start the fix and absolutely nothing has been done since 2010 by the city of Dearborn Heights," he said.
That all could soon be changing. City officials are hoping to get federal funds to buy up to 15 homes in the neighborhood and knock them down. Brown said he's on board with the plan.
"We would [sell our home]," he said. "Obviously, it's an investment that's gone bad. It's worth nothing because it's death row."
A possible timetable has not yet been released.
