Southwest Detroit 54 inch water main break forces residents to evacuate in rafts

[Lowell]

This is just awful to see a vibrant working-class neighborhood like this take a hit. Winter and water main breaks seem to go hand in hand, but I don't recall any affecting so many as this one.

[Zacha341]

^ What a tragedy for people in this area. Incredible how fast that water came! In addition to the displacement of residents and damage to properties we see many cars rendered now useless: frozen flood water dead.

[CassTechGrad]

It can happen anywhere, even in China. Just bad luck.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/516313021021645

[Danny]

There are millions of old pipes in Detroit. Sixty-Five percent of the are laid in the ground flowing into our homes and out to the sewage system and into our rivers and lakes. And the GLWA are not getting money to replace ever last busted pipes that been under our streets for over 120 years.

It's a total disaster for our hoods. At least it's not worse as the 15 Mile Rd. sinkhole problems.

[Zozo]

This is just awful to see a vibrant working-class neighborhood like this take a hit.

This is anything but a vibrant working class neighborhood. It's not even a neighborhood in the traditional sense. It's just several blocks of some occupied homes that provide temporary living for a downwardly mobile collection of day laborers and seasonal unskilled labor from south of the border. Most of the residents in that area move back to Mexico, Guatemala, or Los Angeles after a few quarters of working in Michigan and saving their money. Very few of them reinvest that money in Detroit.

[Danny]

Now those working-class folks may think about moving out to another hoods. Contributing a slight population loss in some SW Detroit hoods. All because the GLWA that is ruled by a former Detroit Police deputy in which Godfather Kwame fired the deputy long ago couldn't even fix an Aqueduct Pipe or should I say ' Ad-diquete pipe!'

[Zacha341]

^ Once this water problem is resolved this community will rebound. Their two Detroit Public Schools high schools The Academy of the Americas and Western International High Schools [I've provided volunteer services for both] have very high populations which include Black, Arab, and Latino and some White. This area borders Dearborn which also has a large public school system [Dearborn Public Schools], second only to Detroit Public Schools Community District - which is the largest school district in Michigan.

[Jimaz]

...This area borders Dearborn which also has a large public school system [Dearborn Public Schools], second only to Detroit Public Schools Community District - which is the largest school district in Michigan.

I thought, although close, Utica was second largest with Dearborn in third place:

2025 Largest School districts in Michigan

Not that it matters much. I think I would prefer smaller school districts anyway.

[Zacha341]

^ Utica it is. With Dearborn coming in third largest. Thanks for the update and website resource.

[Jimaz]

Water main break recovery update

[Jimaz]

DWSD provides update on cleanup after
water main break floods SW Detroit homes

They're cleaning sludge out of the storm drains in anticipation of spring flooding. It's nice to see people think ahead.