October 6, 2023
Devastating floods leave Detroiters with toxic mold
A report in Bridge Detroit finds in Rust Belt cities like Detroit with combined sewer and rainwater systems, untreated sewage can back up into streets and homes when pipes become overwhelmed with stormwater. Low-income and Black households experience are more likely to live in substandard housing with cracks in the foundations, walls, and windows, as well as gutters that don’t drain water away from the houses. Carina Gronlund said:
“We were seeing flooding in homes that weren’t near major bodies of water. We also saw in a more northern section of the city a hotspot of flooding, and that is not in a low-lying area of the city or along a major body of water. So this really points to housing conditions as potentially being a major driver of basement flooding in Detroit.”