Great Lakes Water Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers host public workshops on regional flood mitigation study

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are seeking community input at a series of public engagement workshops across southeast Michigan.

The meetings will be conducted in a “World Café” format, with information stations set up around the room. The stations are intended to inform participants about the study and the USACE planning process, involve participants in shaping the study’s objectives and vision, and allow the study team to learn from residents’ experiences with flooding.

All meetings will be held from 3:00-7:00 p.m., with the first two hours targeting municipal and non-profit stakeholders within the study area, and the second two hours targeting public participation. However, anyone is welcome to join any time during the meetings’ scheduled four-hour timeframe to ensure widest participation.

Each meeting will be structured similarly, so participants should plan to attend the workshop closest to them.

Meeting dates and locations are as follows:

• Monday, December 2: Eastlake Baptist Church, 12400 E. Jefferson Ave. Detroit, MI
• Wednesday, December 4: Atrium @ Dearborn Administrative Offices, 16901 Michigan Avenue (West Entrance), Dearborn, MI
• Monday, December 9: Waterford Oaks Activity Center, 2800 Watkins Lake Road, Waterford Township, MI
• Tuesday, December 10: Sterling Heights Community Center (Room 1), 40250 Dodge Park Road, Sterling Heights, MI
• Monday, December 16: Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI

“Southeast Michigan has experienced repeated widespread flooding, with five flooding-related FEMA Federal Disaster Declarations since 2000,” said CEO of GLWA Suzanne R. Coffey, P.E., in a press release. “This widespread flooding has resulted in economic burden and social hardship across our region. As GLWA and USACE work to finalize the scope of the study, it is important for us to gather feedback from our stakeholders on the draft study objectives we’ve developed, as well as what they hope we will prioritize in this important regional initiative.”

The multi-year flood mitigation study has received initial funding of $500,000 in congressionally approved allocations for fiscal year 2024 with second year funding of $600,000 pending Congressional approval for fiscal year 2025.

GLWA will be providing a 50/50 match with in-kind-services to complete the study. USACE and GLWA will co-lead the study inside USACE’s established framework.

The study launched in September with a ceremonial signing of the agreement between the USACE and GLWA and the completion of a three-day technical planning charrette attended by more than 50 people from a cross-section of key stakeholder groups, including local, state, and federal government.

During the charrette, existing flood risk conditions in southeast Michigan were established, priorities for the region were discussed, a deep dive was taken into existing data, and a preliminary list of structural and non-structural flood management measures designed to alleviate flooding were identified. This list will be further developed and discussed at the upcoming public workshops.

These meetings are the beginning of an extensive community outreach plan to seek the input of a broad range of regional stakeholders, including the public.

“Addressing flooding in southeast Michigan is important to so many people in our region, given the damages and impacts communities have faced over the last decade,” said Susan Rusinowski, USACE’s lead planner for the study, in a press release. “The USACE and GLWA team’s priority is to work alongside regional stakeholders and the community throughout the study process, seeking input from the people most affected by flood risk.”