The Metro: Detroit’s Venice could be underwater. Who should protect it?
A combination of climate change and aging infrastructure is causing massive flooding in Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood. The city has a plan to repair sea walls in the area, but what do residents think is needed to prevent disaster?
A flooded Jefferson Chalmers neighbohood in Detroit, Mich. in 2019.
These days, when it rains, it much more often pours. That’s due in large part to climate change. Heat waves are longer, winds are stronger, and rains are heavier.
Meanwhile, much of metro Detroit’s infrastructure is old. And, combined with the downpours, it has led to more flooding. That’s true on Hines Drive in Wayne County; it’s true in East Dearborn; and it’s true in Jefferson Chalmers, or the “Venice of Detroit.”
In 2021, the eastside neighborhood was declared a “high-risk flood zone” by FEMA after heavy rains flooded many basements and roads.
The City of Detroit recently announced a $1 million pilot program to repair or replace sea walls for low-income residents to protect them from flooding. What do people in the neighborhood make of this plan? What do they need to protect their neighborhood?
Blake Grannum is a longtime Jefferson Chalmers resident. She spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about that and more.
The Metro reached out to Detroit Council member Latisha Johnson, who represents Jefferson Chalmers. Her office did not respond to our request for comment.
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