DETROIT – City officials announced Thursday that recovery efforts for the Southwest Detroit neighborhood that flooded from a water main break in February are nearly complete.
Previous coverage: Detroit mayor: Recovery efforts ‘on target’ to 6-week goal for neighborhood flooded by main break
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said recovery efforts are over 90% complete in the neighborhood.
He added that there are still 15 families living in a hotel. Over 200 families were initially sent to hotels when the water main break happened.
Duggan also said 125 furnaces and 120 water heater tanks have been replaced. He said fewer than five homes still need to be completed because they require more attention. Four or five homes have asbestos or lead in the homes, leading to crews restoring the area before replacing the appliances.
City officials said recovery efforts should be completed by next week, reaching the six-week goal made by the water and sewerage department.
The emergency line that was created for this event will be discontinued on Sunday. By Monday morning, the line will be shut down as the city said there should be no more emergencies from the main break.
Duggan said the next step is processing claims. Over 70 claims have been filed related to the water main break.
He said over the next six weeks, all claims should be processed.
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown said they are working on making a one-year warranty on the appliances installed in the homes to ensure everything is working properly.
Background
The 54-inch water main built in the 1930s burst early on Feb. 17, 2025, displacing hundreds of residents.
There were 398 homes inside the emergency flood zone. Many basements were completely flooded, and some homes had flooding up to the first floor.
It took 11 different agencies from across Metro Detroit to help ferry homeowners safely away from the freezing water.
City officials said it is the worst water main break Detroit has ever seen.
Crews began going into the homes affected by the water main break on Feb. 24 and started replacing appliances that were damaged, such as furnaces and water heaters. They also have been removing all the belongings damaged from the home to begin clean-up and repair efforts.
It took about two weeks for the pipe to be repaired.
