Sen. Gary Peters working to secure funding for Metro Detroit infrastructure after summer flooding

Sen. Peters pushes to get infrastructure funding after floods

Sen. Gary Peters is working to get funding that can be used to improve Michigan infrastructure to be better prepared for severe weather.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Metro Detroit dealt with flooding repeatedly this summer.

From flooded freeways to damaged basements, several storms rolled through the area that caused issues, and there's fears it could only get worse.

"In the Great Lakes region, storm water is going to be the biggest result of climate change," said Jim Nash, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner. "We’re very concerned about what the impact of climate change is bringing to our area in terms of ever-greater storms."

Earlier this year, Sen. Gary Peter's STORM Act was signed into law. It provides grants to help states by providing mitigation assistance to reduce risks from disasters and natural hazards.

"Here in the Metro Detroit area we are seeing the intensity increase in terms of storms," Peters said. "We’re finding that our infrastructure is just not equipped to deal with these very strong storms that we’re getting with greater frequency."

Peters is trying to get loans from the program that can be used to help infrastructure.

READ: 6 flood prevention tips

"We need to be proactive. We need to get out in front of it, not just clean up afterward," Marian McClellan said. "Let’s make our infrastructure more resilient."

McClellan, the mayor of Oak Park, said infrastructure in her city is 65-100 years old and needs to be replaced.

"It’s a million dollars a mile to fix this stuff," she said.

With a budget of $30 million a year, there's no way the city can afford to fix 120 miles of underground pipes.

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