DETROIT – Cecily Warren won’t have to worry during the next major rain event.
“Every time it rains, you know you’re thinking, oh my God, are we going to go through this again? So, this puts me a bit at ease,” said Warren.
Warren is the first Detroit homeowner to benefit from the city’s new private sewer repair program.
In June 2021, a storm flooded her basement, damaging irreplaceable personal items and appliances.
“It was a tremendous thing to have to go through,” Warren said. “It was horrifying.”
Six inches of rain in a 12-hour period overwhelmed the public sewer system, flooding residential and commercial basements, streets, and freeways.
The private sewer repair program aims to prevent a repeat of that flood event by helping households impacted by it.
Almost $43 million has been designated for the program, all coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The city is expected to assist up to 1,500 Detroit households with the program.
“We have folks who are not high-income people, who don’t have the resources to spend to fix several thousand dollars to fix that lateral sewer line, which means this year, next year, five years from now, 10 years from now, anytime there’s any kind of significant rain, they’re going to be dealing with sewerage backup,” said Mayor Mike Duggan.
Warren said she encourages homeowners to take advantage of the program.
“I am so happy that I applied for this program because, of course, we couldn’t afford to do any of this,” Warren said.
To qualify for the program, all applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Households applying must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income as determined annually by HUD
- Applicants must live in a single-family residential home
- Households must be able to demonstrate the impact from the June 25-26, 2021, flood event
- The property cannot be in a floodplain
- Home must be in one of the 22 designated hardest-hit areas in District 4, District 5, and District 6.
Click here to apply or by phone at 1866-313-2520.
Read: ‘Things are changing’: Floods recurring problem in Metro Detroit