Raining in Detroit - Expressways and Homes Flooded

[Honky Tonk]

I live in Harper Woods and go to that Home Depot all the time. I know several people that work there. This did not happen. But stay racist.

You were witness! What did the guy look like?

[ct_alum]

I live in Harper Woods and go to that Home Depot all the time. I know several people that work there. This did not happen. But stay racist.

Huh? I'm not going to take the bait, troll.

[Pam]

Amazing images and personal stories in this piece. This simply has to stop and soon. The whole drainage situation in Metro Detroit is a long-running inexcusable mess. It keeps happening over and over again, flooded expressways, flooded basements, flooded homes. Hopefully the infrastructure bill being negotiated Congress will offer some start on this.

Ok, I need a drainage for dummies explanation. What was going on when they said water was gushing out of holes in the embankment? I had originally assumed the flood was just rain water that couldn't drain with no pumps but it sounds like water from somewhere else was getting flushed down there. Crazy.

[Gistok]

^ Pam... I was trying to figure that out too... was the water just rushing down from the service drives/side streets to the freeway down the grass... or were there other open sources of water gushing up... possibly storm drains? I too need the same explanation.

Also, the story of those people in that video sounded chillingly like out of a disaster movie... the thought of not being able to exit your vehicle in flooded water as it rose quickly, is one that no one wants to experience...

[Danny]

Most modern ex-urban has retention reservoirs and built in sump-pumps all set in case if their basements flooded. So they are high and dry.

Take a look at this sub-division in Macomb TWP.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7044.../data=!3m1!1e3

For bedroom suburban homes, you must get install a sump pump NOW! or you could have a swimming pool in your basement.

[Danny]

I-94 FWY. has been turned into I-94 River.

[Satiricalivory]

I guess these midwest floods are sort of good timing since it brings attention to the issue while the infrastructure bill is being made.

[MikeM]

Over 8 inches of rain on some parts of Michigan

Grosse Pointe Park 8.19 in
Detroit 4.4 S 8.00 in
Grosse Pointe Farms 6.50 in
Dearborn Heights 1.8 NW 5.20 in
Detroit City Air 4.30 in
Canton 3.99 in
Livonia 3.93 in
4 NNW Taylor 3.44 in
Livonia 2.3 NNW 3.29 in
Canton 2.7 N 3.20 in
1 SW Dearborn 3.18 in
Canton 3.07 in
Grosse Ile 1.6 N 2.75 in
Livonia 2.0 NE 2.72 in
3.2 NE Dearborn 2.40 in
Dearborn 3.5 NE 2.40 in
Detroit Wayne KDTW 1.75 in
Belleville 5.0 SE 1.75 in
2.4 NE Riverview 1.61 in

[JBMcB]

I guess these midwest floods are sort of good timing since it brings attention to the issue while the infrastructure bill is being made.

Most of the infrastructure bill is earmarked for green energy programs and souping up the grid to handle electric vehicles. The water portion is focused on lead remediation, and is one of the lower amounts. Broadband is getting more money than water.

It's not an encouraging sign when vice president Harris was scheduled to visit Detroit on Monday, but cancelled. Usually, as a politician, you *want* to visit natural disaster sites. At least governor Whitmer showed up.

[Jimaz]

I wasn't directly affected by the flooding but our trash was picked up a day later than usual by other than the usual crew.

I imagine those trash haulers are racking up some overtime. The land fills must be a real spectacle.

[Honky Tonk]

Most of the infrastructure bill is earmarked for green energy programs and souping up the grid to handle electric vehicles. The water portion is focused on lead remediation, and is one of the lower amounts. Broadband is getting more money than water.

And there's the rub. Before anyone jumps on the infrastructure bandwagon, or any bandwagon for that matter [safer streets, for our schools, fix our roads, etc.] one needs to read the fine print. Everything I've read so far about Uncle Joe's 1 trill infrastructure bill seems to point to souping up the grid for electric cars. That's fine, but where are these cars and parts coming from? Who stands to profit from this? We've all dealt with the electric companies before. Once their in the lead, are the prices going to start climbing? I can't afford mid-class gas vehicle, electric cars are even more expensive. Notice how gas prices have climbed since January?

[Gistok]

Notice how gas prices have climbed since January?

Maybe this will help explain that... in a sentence...
"cars no longer collect dust in the garage"...

https://www.freep.com/story/money/pe...gh/7684319002/

[MikeM]

I noticed they are back up to 2018 levels. Must be that roaring economy.

[Jimaz]

WWJ News Radio 950 mentioned this scam alert on the Michigan Department of Attorney General website regarding price gouging, contractor scams and water-damaged vehicles. It lists the maximum towing services fees right up front.

• Consumer Protection

[hybridy]

The thought of my basement flooding multiple times in 5 years sound horrifying. Sounds like the new norm unfortunately.

Look at what the well-healed in Houston are building now:
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M71263-09110

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M82595-77794

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M81181-42170

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M71297-37577

[313WX]

The thought of my basement flooding multiple times in 5 years sound horrifying. Sounds like the new norm unfortunately.

Look at what the well-healed in Houston are building now:
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M71263-09110

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M82595-77794

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M81181-42170

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...5_M71297-37577

It's funny you mention Houston.

It seems Detroit, a city roughly 700ft high in elevation, sees flooding just as bad or even worse than a city at sea level, which is crazy.

[401don]

It's funny you mention Houston.

It seems Detroit, a city roughly 700ft high in elevation, sees flooding just as bad or even worse than a city at sea level, which is crazy.

Go on the internet and read some of the stories about Miami's flooding problems. Parts of the city are underwater most of the time. I never thought about the effect on buildings sinking, until now obviously.

[ndavies]

It's funny you mention Houston.

It seems Detroit, a city roughly 700ft high in elevation, sees flooding just as bad or even worse than a city at sea level, which is crazy.

Sea level has nothing to do with the great lakes region. Sea level is the level of the oceans. Lake Erie's surface is almost 600 feet above sea level. All the upstream lakes are higher than that. Our ground water table is almost 600 feet above sea level.

You can have flooding anywhere the amont of water coming in exceeds the amount leaving. Including your bathtub. [[No sea level effect there.)

[Dumpling]

I take it you have no idea how much generator capacity would be required to pump hundreds of millions of gallons of storm water? They would have to build an addition to their pumping station, and spend many many millions to get the backup system and keep it at the ready.

Conner Creek CSO [Combined Sewer Overflow] facility
was completed in July of 2005. Planning for this facility
was probably done earlier, possibly even as early as 1995.
The contractor was pleased at having steered the project
in a smaller and therefore lower cost direction, as follows:

https://www.hazenandsawyer.com/work/...trol-facility/

Conner Creek was built for that ten year, one hour event,
applicable to year 2005. Once the ten year one hour event
is exceeded presumably there would then be untreated CSO
overflow into Conner Creek.

So yes, that backup Caterpillar gas fired generator would be nice
there, if they don't have one already, but maybe a larger
or different design also has to happen to prevent harmful
flooding.

I don't know much about the setup of the eight or so
associated pumps. A lot of the sewage piping has gravity
flows.

[Dumpling]

Ok, I need a drainage for dummies explanation. What was going on when they said water was gushing out of holes in the embankment? I had originally assumed the flood was just rain water that couldn't drain with no pumps but it sounds like water from somewhere else was getting flushed down there. Crazy.

I am absolutely no expert on this subject and can't find any
supporting articles for the incident I am about to relate.

In the sixties or seventies there was a new sewage pipe
installed under the street in Royal Oak that my family lived
on. However Dad had recently replaced the sewage line from
the house to the ancient sewage pipe maybe dating to the
1920's that ran at the back of the property where an alley
could have been put but wasn't.
This ancient sewage pipe ended at I-75 in Madison Heights.
The pipe was probably in existence before the below ground
I-75 was built in that area.

One day, and now I can't remember if there had been any rainfall
at around that time, the cap popped off from this ancient sewage
pipe and sewer water gushed all over I-75.

The freeways and some surface streets are very often defacto
retention basins in the Detroit area that collect CSO [Combined
Sewer Overflow] flows when these cannot be transported elsewhere quickly enough.

ps - how did it go at the Senate Theater last weekend?

[jcole]

...
ps - how did it go at the Senate Theater last weekend?

Someone secured a pump and they got the basement drained.

[Dumpling]

That's good, thank you all!

[MikeM]

Conner Creek was built for that ten year, one hour event,
applicable to year 2005. Once the ten year one hour event
is exceeded presumably there would then be untreated CSO
overflow into Conner Creek.

So yes, that backup Caterpillar gas fired generator would be nice
there, if they don't have one already, but maybe a larger
or different design also has to happen to prevent harmful
flooding.

I don't know much about the setup of the eight or so
associated pumps. A lot of the sewage piping has gravity
flows.

Overflow from the CSO would be treated with sodium hypochlorite or something similar.

The CSO has a backup diesel generator. The Conner Creek Pumping Station has four backup diesel generators.

[Dumpling]

Overflow from the CSO would be treated with sodium hypochlorite or something similar.

The CSO has a backup diesel generator. The Conner Creek Pumping Station has four backup diesel generators.

I am seeing that! It's on page D-60 of the CIP.

https://www.glwater.org/wp-content/u...nformation.pdf

The eight storm pumps for Conner Creek are each a nominal
320 MGD [million gallons per day] so if all if them were to run
in parallel at the same time, the total pumped storm water
volume for a 24 hour day would come to 2,560 million gallons.

[Ray1936]

Amazing videos on the I-94 flooding on YouTube. Makes me glad to be in my nice dry desert. We've still not reached one inch for our total rainfall this year.