27-03-2025
Recovery efforts in Southwest Detroit neighborhood nearly complete after water main break
In February, a neighborhood in Southwest Detroit was underwater. Hundreds of homes were severely flooded and damaged after a
water main broke overnight
.
City officials say the 54-inch water main break has been fully repaired, and the intersection near Rowan and Beard streets is back open, and recovery efforts are right on track.
"We are beyond the 90% completion rate," said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
The city says that nearly 125 furnaces and 126 hot water tanks have been replaced, with only a handful still to be finished. They expect those repairs to be done next week.
Of the more than 200 families that were in hotels, only 15 remain displaced.
"Stopping completion is exactly what we predicted. There are a handful of houses that had circumstances that needed a lot more work," Duggan stated.
Of the 400 homes damaged, 378 filed claims, which the city expects to have processed in the next six weeks.
"You have until Tuesday, 45 days by law after an incident occurs, to file a claim," said Duggan.
"We're going to be able to provide a one-year warranty on all of the work that we did and also on the appliances, internal plumbing and electrical work of the houses that we worked on," Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown stated.
Though a stressful situation for many, city officials say they're appreciative of community advocates who stepped up to help.
"I think this whole situation showed the city that when a time is needed, we can all work together," said Detroiter's Helping Each Other president Jessica Ramirez.
"We're already back in our houses, my furnace has been replaced, my hot water tank has been replaced, they've cleaned and sterilized my basement. At this point, most of us are whole again in our homes," said resident Deanna Dooley.
"The city has definitely done everything they gotta do. Our furnace is done; our hot water tank is done. We still have a little bit of work that we need done, but we're rolling with the punches," resident Jerry Reynolds stated.
Residents who have yet to
file a claim
have until April 3.
The city also says the emergency line put in place for repairs will be discontinued by Sunday. If you need to get in touch with the city after that, you can contact DWSD directly.
