Detroit Introduces New Water Infrastructure

The bioswale allows half an inch to one inch of rainfall to go back into the ground instead of into the sewer system

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By Sarah Cwiek

Michigan Radio

When Metro Detroit got hit by an unprecedented rainstorm last August, it unleashed massive flooding — and an estimated ten billion gallons of raw sewage — into the region’s waterways.

That was an extreme event. But those types of downpours are happening more and more, and for decades Detroit’s aging water system has dealt with sewage overflows.

The traditional fixes are expensive. But a couple experiments are underway that could help ease the problem.

A stretch of Mack Avenue on Detroit’s east side is a good little snapshot of the landscape you find in many parts of the city. Mack is a busy thoroughfare, lined with small churches and storefronts — some occupied, some abandoned.

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