Biden Administration awards Detroit $346M in HUD funds to prevent basement flooding, add affordable housing

Mayor had sought funding to prioritize repair of clogged and collapsed alley sewers
Funding will help prevent basement backups at 10,000 Detroit homes over the next two years
City also can use disaster recovery funds for new resilient affordable housing
City to begin public engagement process to develop final Action Plan for use of funds

US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) officials today presented the city with a check for $346.8 million in disaster recovery funds to help the city become more resilient to floods and basement backups. Mayor Mike Duggan joined federal and local leaders for the check presentation and discussed priorities for how the City will use of the influx of federal funds to protect residents.

The HUD Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding is tied to the flooding Detroit and other communities experienced in August 2023. From August 24-26 of that year, Detroit and other surrounding communities experienced severe storms, resulting in up to 5 inches of rain in a 6-hour period, which exceeded the design capacity of the public regional sewer system. The storms led to flooding on streets and freeways, as well as in residential and commercial basements, triggering a disaster declaration for nine counties, including Wayne County.

Mayor Duggan said he had been seeking federal funding to address the huge unmet need of failing decades-old alley sewer lines in the city that are a major cause of basement backups.

"We have 1,800 miles of old alley sewer lines built 70-90 years ago for a city of 1.8 million residents. With 700,000 residents today, there is no way we’d be able to address a problem of this magnitude without significant federal support,” Mayor Duggan said. “We now have the resources we need to make a significant impact on this problem.”

Mayor Duggan said he wants to use a significant portion of the funding to prioritize repairing and replacing these failing alley drains, with a goal of addressing blockages at 10,000 Detroit homes over the next two years. The HUD funding also can be invested in the construction of new flood-resilient affordable housing, which the Mayor also plans to prioritize.

“CDBG-DR provides critical funding to not only repair damages from severe storms, but also to increase community resilience in the face of future flooding events,” said Kera Package, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs. “HUD is pleased to award $347 Million to the City of Detroit to invest in local communities, and I'm proud of the work our disaster recovery team has done to ensure CDBG-DR funding nationwide will be deployed efficiently, effectively, and equitably.”

"These housing dollars will actualize the Detroit reality that decent housing is a human right necessary to stabilize Detroit families that will thrive in safe neighborhoods, making Detroit an American good news story," said Mary Waters, Detroit Councilmember at large.

Next steps

The City of Detroit has up to 120 days to create an Action Plan to determine how specifically the funds will be used. As part of that, the city will be hosting community engagement events to collect feedback from residents. Updates on the Action Plan, as well as other housing resources can be found here.

“We are incredibly grateful to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for this allocation,” said Julie Schneider, Director of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department. “This critical funding will support much-needed infrastructure and housing improvements, ensuring that our residents have access to safer, more sustainable communities.”

About Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Grant

Data shows that of the near 6,000 homes that experienced flooding damage in August 2023, 5,000 of them were in the city of Detroit. While residents who suffered home damage were able to apply directly to FEMA for aid, the City itself did not receive any direct federal funds to prevent future occurrences, until now.

The CDBG-DR grant is designed to provide funding to communities affected by major disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods.

As the only federal disaster recovery assistance to primarily benefit low- and moderate-income households and communities, CDBG- DR funding can be used to:

Replace damaged affordable housing and build more resilient affordable housing.
Strengthen infrastructure through repairs, upgrades, and activities to increase the resilience of public facilities and infrastructure including roadways, water systems, and utilities.
Support economic revitalization including support for small businesses, creation of jobs, and assistance for residents.
Implement disaster mitigation measures to reduce risk of damage from future extreme weather and disaster events.

This funding is for infrastructure resilience implemented by city departments and there will not be individual assistance opportunities for the public to apply for grants.

“I am excited that the City of Detroit is receiving this funding from HUD,” said Michael Polsinelli, Detroit Field Office Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “The city can use these funds to make many improvements in the city that will benefit both residents and businesses. HUD is happy to be a partner in this endeavor.”

DWSD Creating capacity in the sewer system to handle rain events

DWSD has been cleaning more than 500 miles of the local sewer collection piping per year on a five-year rotation, including nearly 650 miles in 2024, as well as crews cleaned and inspected close to 7,000 street and alley catch basins last year to alleviate future flooding and will continue this important work in 2025.

In addition to the existing 19 green stormwater infrastructure projects, DWSD is investing more than $100M in local, regional, state and federal funding on flood mitigation including two massive detention basins in Far West Detroit and is embarking on a proposed 16-acre Brightmoor stormwater project and an eastside flood resiliency study.

DWSD Director Gary Brown said, "The Biden-Harris Administration has recognized the need to advance our flood mitigation efforts that have been in the planning stages for more than a decade. Federal funding has allowed DWSD to pursue these projects to reduce basement backups and street flooding in several Detroit neighborhoods, and the positive impact has been noticed in recent rain events. This additional funding will allow us to further improve the flood resiliency in our city without any impact on our water and sewer rates.

Additional Contacts:

HUD Contact: [email protected]

DWSD Contact: [email protected], 313-410-2954

Housing & Revitalization Department Contact: [email protected], 586-894-3204