Water Authority To Deny All Claims After Historic Detroit Flooding

DETROIT — The Great Lakes Water Authority is denying all flooding claims stemming from a historic June 2021 storm that caused major basement and surface flooding in the Detroit area.

As Michigan Advance, a Patch partner, previously reported, summer floods June 25-26 ravaged through southeastern Michigan, over-flooding sewers in Detroit as well as freeway pump stations and basements. At the time, Democratic State Sen. Stephanie Chang of Detroit said "far too many people lost valuables, cherished memories, hot water heaters, furnaces, cars as well as time and money."

But in a news release Tuesday, the water authority, which provides wastewater services to nearly 30 percent of the state's population, said it will deny all claims submitted to it related to the historic flooding. Claimants will be notified this week, officials said.

The decision was based on two factors, the authority said. First, an independent investigation found that widespread basement flooding was inevitable due to the unprecedented amount and intensity of the rainfall. Basement flooding, the authority said, would have happened even if every pipe and piping equipment in the regional system worked flawlessly on those days.

Read the independent investigation’s final report here.

Second, under the state's Governmental Liability for Negligence Act, public entities such as the water authority are only liable for basement backups if the sewage disposal system malfunctioned and was at least 50 percent the cause of the event and property damage or physical injury, the authority said.

“We understand the difficult situations homeowners and businesses face when flooding occurs,” Suzanne Coffey, the authority's CEO, said in a statement. “We are experiencing increased frequency and intensity of storms hitting our region. This is why it’s critical to focus on building resiliency in the regional system."

Coffey said that even before the final investigative report was released, the authority began work to implement key infrastructure and process improvements to help address infrastructure stresses brought on by historic rainfall.

"We remain committed to doing everything within our power and to working closely with our infrastructure partners in southeast Michigan, to help mitigate the impacts of climate change," Coffey said.

The authority said its short-term actions taken to improve climate resiliency over the last year can be found here. The authority has also started working with lawmakers to find federal money for a flood risk mitigation study for the region. The study, which would be conducted in partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers, would evaluate the implementation of concepts such as wastewater storage at grade or deep tunnel levels, using pumping stations for discharge, constructing large relief sewers, and strategic sewer separation.

Meanwhile, property owners were advised to protect their valuables in the future by disconnecting downspouts, checking basement walls and foundation for leaks, properly disposing of grease — not in drains — and snaking drains and the sewer lateral service line every two years.