Mayor Hammoud unveils current and future projects to combat flooding

Published Sept. 25, 2025

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud was joined by City Council President Michael T. Sareini on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, to discuss ongoing and future projects to combat flooding and boost long-term stormwater resilience in the city of Dearborn.

The officials revealed the results of a large-scale study commissioned by the City to understand and assess the root causes of devastating flooding during major storm events, the projects the City undertook while waiting for that study’s results, and the short-term and future projects currently underway to protect residents from basement flooding for years to come.

Mayor Hammoud stated, “Just a few months after [devastating flooding], I was elected the mayor of this city, with the promise that we’ll better prepare the city for floods and heavy rain events in the future… We’re building resilience, we’re being proactive and prepared, and what we have done [thus far] has already yielded results.”

The flooding study revealed Dearborn’s current capacity to handle less than 3.5 inches of stormwater per rain event. Being one of the most downstream communities in the Rouge watershed limits City’s ability to move water out of its system fast enough during severe rain events. The study therefore recommends a drastic increase in capacity through large sewer separation projects.

Council President Sareini thanked the combined efforts of the City’s Public Works Department, engineers, and its vendor, OHM Advisors, that helped bring the study to a conclusion.

Sareini stated, “This study provides a real framework. It also helps us understand the short-term and long-term infrastructure needs in dollars so we can properly budget. While we waited for the study’s results, we did not sit idly by.”

Hammoud highlighted $25 million in flood investments made while awaiting the conclusion of the study that have already resulted in minimal street and basement-level flooding during severe storm events.

These include removal of logjams in the Rouge River which has has increased capacity to move water out of Dearborn by 70%; conversion of 24 residential easements along Morrow Circle into bioswales engineered to absorb up to 40,000 gallons of water in a single storm event; and investments in green infrastructure and permeable surfaces at parks and green spaces. 

The ongoing clear out of debris from the 12-foot-wide Colson-Palmer line will increase stormwater capacity by 4 million gallons of stormwater, restoring access to its original 7 million-gallon capacity. The City has also employed a four-person sewer grate cleaning crew to ensure catch basins are clear to take in stormwater when needed.

Short-term projects
Hammoud discussed a number of short-term projects already underway to combat flooding in at-risk areas of the city.

These include two new pumps, or forced mains, that will move water into the river to prevent catastrophic flooding, affecting over 12,600 homes in East Dearborn.

A federal grant has enabled the construction of four flap gates and two pumps that will act as backflow preventers, protecting roughly 13,600 residents from basement flooding during heavy rains, similar to the 2021 storm, which flooded some 20,000 homes in under 24 hours. 

These same East End neighborhoods will also see hundreds of new manhole covers to direct rainwater away from the sanitary system into dedicated stormwater lines. Two new stormwater lines are also planned for the area.

Long-term projects
Dearborn’s flooding study confirmed large-scale sewer separation projects as the most cost-effective solution to flooding in all areas of the city. The City has, therefore, designed five large-scale projects to massively increase stormwater capacity for generations to come.

One of these projects, Project 1, or "Notre Dame," will impact 800 acres in the southwest side of the city alone, thereby significantly increasing the combined sewer system's capacity citywide.

Hammoud stated that an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the City’s infrastructure will allow Dearborn to secure federal funding for these projects in the years to come.

Hammoud added, “Our message today is clear: this is just the beginning. We’ve been working over the last four years on addressing flooding concerns. We’re doing the basics better, and we’re also investing in short-term solutions to give residents the confidence to continually invest within the city of Dearborn.”

More information, including a presentation, fact sheet, and video series on flooding projects, is available for download from the City’s website at Dearborn.gov/FloodPreparedness.

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