Residents See Basement and Road Flooding, City of Berkley Responds
(City of Berkley, Aug. 29, 2017)
Berkley, MI – On August 28, 2017, the City of Berkley and the southeastern region of Oakland County experienced extreme rain and flash flooding. According to local sources, approximately two inches of rain fell in roughly a two hour timeframe. We typically see this amount of rainfall over a four week period.
Department of Public Works crews are working to make sure that streets are passable, removing debris from the right-of-way. Restricted covers are in place on many catch basins to regulate the water flow into our combined sewer system. Please do not remove or dislodge these covers as it may cause additional issues for our system.
Our initial analysis indicates that the sewer system performed as it was designed, but may have been overwhelmed by massive rain amounts over a short period of time.
We are investigating this matter further and need assistance from residents to determine how many households experienced damage from basement flooding or backups. This will help us understand the full extent to which residents were impacted. Residents are respectfully asked to provide the address when the damaged and the approximate amount of water that entered their basement. Please send this information to rainevent2017@berkleymich.net.
We know this may be an inconvenience for some but this is the most efficient way to obtain this information. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Public Act 222 of 2001 is the Michigan law that clarifies the conditions of when municipalities become liable for sewer backups. Anyone making a claim for damage or personal injury must prove that the public sewer had a defect. To pursue a claim against a governmental agency for damage resulting from basement flooding, the claimant must file a written notice of the claim to the agency within 45 days of the date that the damage was discovered.
Claim forms are available on the City’s website. Hard copies are also available at Berkley City Hall. Claims will be submitted to the City’s insurance company for disposition. The insurance company will contact claimants directly. Homeowners who experienced flooding or backups should also contact their insurance company immediately for assistance and direction. Updates to the rain event will be posted on the City’s website as new information becomes available. Thank you for your patience as we continue to provide services to Berkley residents.
The City Council will hold a Special Meeting on Thursday, September 7th at 7PM to discuss the recent rain event along with infrastructure concerns and the regional response. Details regarding the meeting agenda will be available at a later date on the city’s website.
More info: http://www.berkleymich.org/