Detroit searches for answers after massive water break forces evacuations

Dozens of Detroiters were evacuated from their homes on Monday when a nearly century-old water main burst and flooded a neighborhood with freezing waters estimated to be 5 feet deep.

The Great Lakes Water Authority, which operates southeast Michigan’s water system, reported a 54-inch water main built in the 1930s burst around 2 a.m., spilling water into southwest Detroit and impacting hundreds of residents, according to city officials. 

Water gushed from the main for about five hours before the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and GLWA turned off the valves and rerouted the water, said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

Detroit Water Department Director Gary Brown said it was the worst water main break he’s ever seen, flooding a densely populated neighborhood.

As Detroiters worried about their damaged homes were sent to a shelter and promised hotel rooms, some wondered if authorities could have done more to prevent the flood.

Carmen Vega and her sister were rescued by boat and transported by bus to Patton Recreation Center. She wants answers, adding there have been three water main breaks in the area that she can remember. 

“If it was avoidable…” she said, letting the thought linger. 

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Sue Coffey, CEO of the water authority, said there is no way to know if the transmission line, buried deep underground, would burst. 

“We have 800 miles of pipes,” she said. “The engineers who designed these systems designed them to be closed systems. It's not likely that it was preventable.”

While it may not have been preventable, it may have been predictable.

Communities across Michigan have for years dealt with water main breaks and storm drainage system failures as aging infrastructure — some communities continue to find wooden water mains as they dig them up to replace them — begins to break down.

In 2016, a state commission recommended Michigan spend $1 billion a year to improve its water infrastructure, and that price has only grown.

Last year, the state deployed $290 million in state bonds to replace lead pipes and update drinking water and sewer systems across the state, but local governments submitted a combined $3.5 billion in requests for water funding. 

‘We’re going to fix it’

In Detroit, crews successfully removed 54 adults, 22 children and 12 pets from the impacted homes by Monday afternoon, Duggan said. 

“This was a failure of a Detroit-built, GLWA-maintained water main and we're going to fix it,” Duggan said during a Monday afternoon event, hours after rescue crews used rubber boats to pull residents from their frozen homes. 

Everyone affected will have damages covered by the city and the authority, Duggan said. City inspectors will visit homes and assess the damage, but Duggan said furnaces, hot water heaters and other appliances will be repaired and replaced at no cost to residents. 

One person was transported to the hospital with a breathing issue, but otherwise, everyone else was taken to an emergency shelter. 

Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who is a Detroit City Council member, said Monday that more than 150 households were likely affected.

Vega, the Detroiter rescued by boat, said there were 14 families at the Patton Recreation Center by Monday afternoon. Vega, a retired carpenter who worked at the Renaissance Center, said she’s grateful to be safe, but her biggest worry is when she can return home.

“It’s a massive disaster,” Vega said. “Everything was ice.” 

Residents who spoke with BridgeDetroit all said their basements are likely destroyed and fear the loss of personal property, cars and appliances. 

Emergency responders unfurled large tarps at Patton Recreation Center, which can house 700 people. 

“The issue will not be restoring water – it'll be a question of how fast we can replace furnaces,” Duggan said. “But folks are going to be able to stay at the hotel until your house is restored and you can comfortably go back.” 

Early Monday afternoon, Juan Lopez stood a few blocks from where emergency responders pulled out a young family huddled in a rescue boat. Lopez’s dog was barking from his porch while he looked on.

“I’ve got a lot of family over here, I don’t want to leave my house alone,” he said. 

Residents said the neighborhood is prone to flooding during heavy rains, as catchwater basins don’t drain water fast enough to prevent water from accumulating in the street. 

“I’ve stayed here almost 30 years now on this street and we always have a problem with the water,” Lopez said. 

Lopez said his basement is severely damaged and he expects to lose his water heater, boiler and washing machine. He’s unsure if flood insurance will cover the damage, though he pays $1,500 a year for it. 

Alberto Cuevas said his basement was flooded but the waters rose higher in the homes of other family members nearby.

“Every time it rains hard, some of the basements get flooded,” Cuevas said. “All the houses go underwater.” 

‘They wanted us to evacuate’

Cuevas said residents were working together to check on neighbors and help people get out of their homes. Several young men donned waders and rubber boots to trudge through knee-high water. Dozens of cars were left stranded in the accumulated ice. 

Andrew Barocio was waiting for his 60-year-old mother to be looked at by health responders before taking her to his home a few blocks away. Barocio said his mother’s basement was destroyed and her washing machine and dryer were floating in floodwaters. He was worried her car was also damaged. Water was up to the wheels and Barocio said she needs the car to get to health appointments. 

Robert Crowe, 54, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, was moved to Patton Recreation Center along with his whole family (pets included) due to the flooding. He said he’s been coming to the rec center since he was a kid, but this was new. 

He learned about the flooding when he came downstairs around 5 a.m. Crowe said he saw an unstoppable stream of water pouring in through the back door. 

“I looked out the window to see the tires on my truck were completely covered (in water and ice),” he said. “My neighbors were out there since 4 a.m. trying to clear the drains, but I knew this flooding wasn’t from the drains.”

His house wasn’t safe to stay in. Crews came knocking to get him and his family out. Together with his wife, daughter, son, the son’s girlfriend, his son-in-law, his grandchildren and his three dogs and one cat, they were put on a shuttle.  

“We got a knock at the door and they wanted us to evacuate because they were about to shut off the water and the power was going to go out and the basement was flooded, which took the heater out.”