A Dearborn resident voices frustration July 6 during a town hall meeting in the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja chairs a town hall meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – City Council President Susan Dabaja held a town hall meeting with key city officials July 6 in the Michael A. Guido Theater to address resident concerns about the recent flooding.
Joining Dabaja at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center to answer resident questions were Superintendent of Sanitation and Neighborhood Services Jordan Roberts, City Engineer Yunus Patel, Department of Public Works Director Jim Murray, City Attorney Debra Walling and Deputy Fire Chief Steven Densmore.
Dabaja said that, in addition to debris removal, street sweeping remained a top priority.
Dabaja said June 6 that conversations with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-12th District) and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-13th District) have led to Federal Emergency Management Agency officials arriving quickly (which began July 8) to assess damage.
City Attorney Debra Walling urged residents to fill out flood damage forms, available on the city’s website, cityofdearborn.org, to help verify the extent of the community’s damage.
Dabaja cleared up misconceptions about past FEMA payments for flooding, and said that any FEMA money the city received was for its own damage claims, and the city was never given money intended for distribution to residents.
Walling said that in 2014, FEMA official did not show up for a month, so it was encouraging that they were showing up within 10 days of the flooding this time.
She said FEMA may eventually set up a claim center in the COMPAC, as it did in the past.
Murray said the city did not receive any money from FEMA following the 2014 flooding to address any city infrastructure concerns associated with flooding risk.
He also reminded residents that the city’s infrastructure is only designed to handle three inches of rain in 24 hours, not the 7.8 inches it received in six hours June 26, and said three inches is the average monthly rainfall for the metropolitan Detroit area.
Patel said the east Dearborn sewer system was built in the 1920s, and noted that with the Rouge River water level as high as it is, the two outlets are underwater, and gravity cannot empty the water from the pipes quickly or effectively.
Murray said that in addition to rising Great Lakes water levels and global warming, the Rouge River level is affected by two dozen upstream communities which are part of its watershed.
Dabaja said that with so many variables at play, an independent investigation will be crucial to determine what needs to be done to improve the city’s infrastructure and to mitigate future flood damage.
She said the city’s options will likely include developing extensive storage for storm water runoff, which could come with a price tag running from $100 million to $500 million.
A Dearborn resident voices frustration July 6 during a town hall meeting in the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
Dabaja said that once the city becomes aware of its options, which will be expensive, it will be up to the voters to decide what they want to do by addressing the options through a millage vote.
Murray said the city applies for federal and state infrastructure grants whenever it can, but the amount of money needed to overhaul the city’s east side infrastructure would not likely be possible through the use of grants alone.
Patel said the higher elevation in west Dearborn allows the waste water system to be 20 feet deep, providing more runoff storage, compared to the seven to eight feet depth in east Dearborn, which is at a lower elevation geographically.
One resident, who said she was worried about the decreasing value of her house due to flooding, asked the city why nothing was done after the 2014 flooding, and said she is tired of hearing about “acts of God” as an excuse from city officials.
Dabaja said many people share the resident’s concerns, and the city will not stop seeking a solution to the flooding.
Murray reminded residents that the Combined Sewer Overflow project was an unfunded federal mandate, as part of the 1972 Clean Water Act, to separate sewage from storm water runoff, and to prevent the dumping of sewage into the Great Lakes during flood events, and was not meant to address flooding concerns.
Dabaja also said that flooding is a regional problem in southeast Michigan, and that, with climate change bringing about more heavy rain events, communities will have to work with state and federal officials to address solutions together, not separately.
Other residents questioned why Mayor John O’Reilly Jr. was not at the meeting to address resident concerns.
Patel, who lives in east Dearborn, said his basement did not flood because he has a device which prevents storm water from flowing in from his basement floor drain.
However, Murray immediately strongly cautioned residents that such devices can allow the buildup of water under a house and cause serious foundation damage.
One resident said flooding was just one of the residents’ concerns, and said that drug dealing, drag racing and high car insurance rates should be added to the issues that city officials should address for residents with the same urgency as the flooding and infrastructure concerns.