Northville To Consider Basement Flood Investigation

Heavy rainfall, about 2.2 inches throughout Southeast Michigan on May 25, shouldn’t have led to flooding in the basements of about nine homes along Novi Street and Allen Drive in Northville.

Now, after petitioning by the residents, the city will consider funding an engineering study.

At its regular meeting Tuesday night, the council agreed to ask Vyto Kaunelis, an engineer with Livonia-based OHM, to create a proposal for a study of the storm sewer system around the homes.

Kaunelis will examine the work required and create a proposed work plan. The council wil review this plan at its meeting Sept. 19, and decide if it wants to proceed.

“We want to have some good solid data,” said Mayor Chris Johnson.

The study could take a couple of months to complete, and would include an examination of the sewer pipes around the homes, as well as runoff flow and possible illegal connections to the system.

The nine homeowners appealed to the city to pay damages from the flood, but the city’s insurance company, the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, has already refused the claims.

"It is our understanding that the sewer system was functioning exactly as it was designed," according to a company letter to the homeowners. However, the city has not yet formally accepted the refusal.

City Manager Patrick Sullivan said the study, if approved at the next meeting, will examine all the causes for the water backup. While he said the city can’t yet find how it could be liable for the damages, if an answer is found that shows Northville is at fault, the city could appeal again to the insurance firm.

The city has a hefty deductible, Sullivan said, and any damages not paid by the insurance would have to come out of the Sewer Fund.

James Gallogly, director of the Department of Public Works, told the council at the Tuesday meeting that in 1998, many of the nine homes also had basements flood during one particular heavy rain, but that incident was caused by a blocked pipe.

“This past May, my guys went out there, and they could not find any blockage. We just don’t know why the pipes couldn’t handle the water,” Gallogly said.

Resident Russ Gregory, owner of one of the homes, told the council he thinks it has to do with the size of the pipes.

“You have two 8-inch pipes feeding into a 10-inch pipe. It’s not an adequate system,” Gregory said. “This is more than just a coincidence that it happened before. We pay thousands of dollars in taxes, we want this problem fixed.”

Gregory’s damages come to about $1,214, according to data collected by the city. Altogether, this group of homeowners have claimed more than $82,000 in damages, though the city only has data from four of the homes.

Gregory said he doesn’t have flood insurance on his home. “We’re higher than Detroit, we should be draining down. Why should we need flood insurance?” he said.