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Visit Lovely Grosse Pointe, the Watery Venice of Detroit? The Flooding Really Isn’t New

Metro Detroit still recovering from late June and early July flooding

Joseph Serwach
4 min readJul 24, 2021
The Detroit-side of Grosse Pointe/Detroit boundary in early July, after the first wave of flooding. Photo by Joseph Serwach.

DETROIT — The Wall Street Journal once compared the Grosse Pointe/Detroit border to the “Mason-Dixon line,” dividing the affluent suburbs from the gritty city.

Since the pounding rains and flooding began this summer, both sides of the “line” look very similar: massive piles of garbage bags, old mattresses, and water-soaked junk pile the curbs everywhere.

The Great Lakes Water Authority is expected to appoint former U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins to investigate June and July flooding that damaged more than 23,000 area homes.

The first wave hit June 25–26, and a second wave followed during downpours on July 16.

“The rain was coming — we all knew it was coming,” Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said in a statement. “It appears there was a management failure at the Conner Creek Pump Station. They needed to have it properly manned. They needed to have a backup plan, like a generator if the electricity went out.”

Attorney Paul Doherty has already filed a lawsuit against the Great Lakes Water Authority, stressing the authority has “been on…

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Joseph Serwach
Joseph Serwach

Written by Joseph Serwach

Story + Identity = Mission. Leadership Culture, Journalism, Branding Education. Inspiration: Catholic, Polish. https://medium.com/@serwachjoe

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