Residents upset with reoccurring flooding on Detroit street, city takes action

Detroit residents on Stotter Street frustrated by flooding

Residents say the flooding occurs far too often, leaving them frustrated each time.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Stotter Street looked like a lake on Monday after severe showers hit the area over the weekend, flooding homes and property.

Residents say the flooding occurs far too often, leaving them frustrated each time. And with more rain in the forecast this week, they expect accumulation again, and again until something changes.

"We're going to get more rain. It’s going to be a lot. It's going to be the same way," said Diane Willis, a concerned Stotter resident. "That’s the way it is every time it rains. It's no different."

Crews from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) were on site on Monday, pumping the water away as the city works to deliver a permanent fix. By Tuesday, the flooding was cleared.

"We’ve already been in the alley and cleaned out a lot of tree roots that are in our sewer line, and we’ve got more to go," said DWSD Director Gary Brown. "We’re going to make this a priority, and go in and completely reline the sewers, cut out all the tree roots… so that this chronic problem that the neighbors are complaining about goes away once and for all."

However, some homeowners said they have had enough and are no longer waiting for the city's help. Instead, they are looking to relocate.

"Well, I just want to go, period," said Avis Wallace, a Detroit resident living on Stotter Street.

"When it rains, she can’t even get out of her house. She has to walk across (the grass) and meet on the corner because the water is up too high," Wallace's goddaughter, Wanda Bradford, added.

A few doors down from Wallace, another neighbor expressed frustration. Flood water got inside Selona Price's vehicle – now the car won’t move, and she is forced to spend money she does not have.

"I’m upset and it smells terrible," Price said. "I have to get a Lyft to work. I be struggling getting back and forth to work because this is the only car that I have."

DWSD said affected residents can submit a damaged property claimon their website for review.

"We should come together and do what makes our city better," Willis said.