Basement Flooding and Sewer Backup in Grosse Pointe Woods

Sewer and drainage

Grosse Pointe Woods sends combined sewage (storm water and household waste in the same pipe) into the Milk River Intercounty Drain Drainage District. Harper Woods and St. Clair Shores send only storm drainage to it. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Milk River Drainage District...)

Wayne County operates the Milk River district under the Michigan Drain Code. Flow goes to the Milk River Retention Treatment Basin and then to the county Northeast Sewage Disposal System. In a very large storm the basin overflows after screening and disinfection into the Milk River. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Milk River Drainage District...)

The Milk River pumping station sits in the Woods at 1200 Parkway Drive, next to the city Public Works office. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Milk River Drainage District...)

Wayne County's Priority 1B project at the Milk River facilities cost $38.8 million and began in November 2016. It followed a state enforcement notice in March 2011 and a consent order signed February 7, 2014. (Wayne County DPS, Milk River Intercounty Drain Drainage...)

After the June 2021 flooding the Woods set aside $1,020,000 for sewer work already budgeted. The plan has three parts: sewer televising, cured-in-place lining and open-cut or pipe-burst repairs. Televising began near Torrey Road and Ida Lane. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Committee of the Whole memo...)

The Woods priced backflow valves for 6,700 homes. At $2,000 each the cost is about $13.4 million, and at $2,500 each about $16.75 million. The city got these estimates but the memo does not state a funded program. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, "Flood Action Items" memo (July...)

The city also studied sending Harper Woods drainage away from the Torrey Road Pump Station and into the Black Marsh Drain. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, "Flood Action Items" memo)

City ordinance 86-241 requires every downspout in Woods to be disconnected. Public Works takes questions at 343-2460. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Public Works, Downspouts)

The Woods Public Works water division looks after more than 58 miles of water main. Crews tell residents door to door about breaks and shutoffs, but usually not at night. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Water and Sewer)

In October 2011 the Woods Public Safety Department warned residents that its waste water system is combined. Backed-up basements go to the Department of Public Works by phone from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, and to Public Safety after hours. (Patch Grosse Pointe, "Heavy Rainfall Brings Worries,...)

The master plan says 45.4 percent of the land in the Woods is impervious. Hard surfaces send more rain into a combined sewer. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, 2024 Master Plan)

The Milk River Intercounty Drain Drainage District dates to 1908 and was set up under the Michigan Drain Code. Its pumping station stands in the Woods at 1200 Parkway Drive. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Milk River Drainage District...)

The 2026 and 2027 approved project list includes rehabilitation of sewers and cleaning and television inspection of sewers across the city. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Approved Construction Projects)

City outreach warns that cooking grease and food scraps poured down drains clog home pipes and the regional sewer system. A clogged lateral can add to a backup in a combined sewer area. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, Water/Sewer Member Outreach)

Flood history

In May 2011 a WWJ report said a waterproofing firm was getting many calls from Grosse Pointe Woods, St. Clair Shores and Roseville after heavy rain and basement flooding. (CBS Detroit (WWJ), "Basement Flooding Means Big Business"...)

Woods voters approved a large drain project in 1958 so building could restart after a five-year building moratorium. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, History: Postwar Growth)

Woods residents with losses from the June 25, 2021 rain event could apply for FEMA help, with a deadline of September 13, 2021 for FEMA aid and SBA disaster loans. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods, June 2021 Rain Event & Flooding)

The Woods Public Safety annual report counts about 100 households that lost belongings in basement flooding on June 25 and 26, 2021. Seven inches of rain fell in three hours, and the city gave out clean-up kits in the Public Safety lobby. (City of Grosse Pointe Woods Department of Public Safety,...)

• Water damage in Grosse Pointe Woods
• Fire and smoke damage in Grosse Pointe Woods
• Storm damage in Grosse Pointe Woods
• Basement flooding and sewer backup in Grosse Pointe Woods
• Sump pump failure in Grosse Pointe Woods