Information on 2 water-related crises impacting Morningside
We want to provide the latest information available on the two water-related crises that have impacted our community over the past several days. Neither of these two separate events affected every Morningside home, but many neighbors were hit with a double whammy.
Brown Drinking Water
According to the City of Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD), as of early this afternoon July 1, the “brown water” coming from our taps has been flushed from the system, and we have the all-clear to resume using our drinking water. As described in their info sheet, residents who had brown water should:
open all your cold-water faucets starting in the basement, let water run until clear plus another 5-10 minutes
turn off faucets in the same order you turned them on
call 313-267-8000 if your water is still rusty
Basement Flooding & Backup
With regard to the basement flooding that most Morningside residents experienced last weekend, Mayor Duggan held a press conference this afternoon that answered 4 major questions:
What should I do if I have standing water in my basement? —Nobody should have standing water in their basement at this point. If you do, call 313-267-8000 to schedule a DWSD crew to come out to your house.
What if I need help getting debris out of my basement? —Volunteer teams have been organized by the City to help seniors and others unable to remove their debris. Call 313-267-8000 if you need help with large-item removal. If you want to volunteer to help in cleanup efforts in Morningside or another neighborhood, go to the following link and fill out the form. You should be contacted within 24 hours with the dates when volunteers will visit Morningside.
When will the debris in front of my house be picked up? —The City has added 43 bulk pickup trucks and crews from City and private vendors who will be picking up flood debris every day — including Monday, July 5 — until the job is done. We don’t know when crews will be in Morningside next, though we are one of the eastside neighborhoods being prioritized. The key is getting your bulk out on the curb in front of your house as soon as possible. It’s very important that no vehicles are parked in front of the bulk pickup piles. Your house may be skipped if there’s a car in the way.
What is the process to get financial help to cover my losses? —The Mayor is counting on getting Federal disaster relief money through FEMA. That declaration by President Biden has not yet happened. An assessment team from FEMA is scheduled to arrive in Detroit next Thursday. But the first step to getting any federal reimbursement for your losses is to fill out a City of Detroit claim form by clicking here or call 313-267-8000. It is very important to keep receipts for any paid clean up work and especially to take photos of all ruined items. You can even take the photos when the debris is out on the curb. YOU MUST FILE YOUR CLAIM FORM BY AUGUST 10, 2021.
You can watch a 30-minute video replay of the Mayor’s announcement today by clicking on the image below (please note the first 5 min or so are blank).
The Eastside Community Network has staff and volunteers who will be helping residents fill out their claim forms tomorrow, July 2, and next week July 6-9 between 9am-5pm. Their location is at 4401 Conner. For more info email help@ecn-detroit.org or call 313-364-9423.
We encourage residents to join the Morningside Facebook Group to look for up-to-date info and tips from fellow Morningsiders. We hope to have City representatives present at our in-person July membership meeting on Tuesday, July 13, at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held outdoors at the Three Mile-Munich Park.
Questions?—please email us at morningsidecommunity2@gmail.com and we will attempt to get you an answer within 48 hours.
