Basement Flooding and Sewer Backup in Birmingham

Sewer and drainage

Birmingham's sewer system is about 125 miles: 37 miles sanitary, 79 miles combined and 9 miles storm. Combined pipes carry rain and sewage together, so most of the system can back up in a heavy rain. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, Water & Sewer)

Birmingham's sewage goes to two county-operated systems. The eastern part of the city uses the Southeastern Oakland County Sewage Disposal District and the central and western parts use the Evergreen-Farmington system. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, Water & Sewer)

About 8,600 sewage customers use the Birmingham system, of which about 1,000 are commercial accounts. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, Water & Sewer)

Birmingham buys drinking water from the Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority, which buys it from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. The city maintains about 99 miles of water main. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, Water & Sewer)

The Birmingham Fire Department says older communities with combined sewer systems face a higher chance of basement flooding than areas with separate systems. (City of Birmingham, Fire Department, Flooding)

Birmingham passed a major bond issue in the late 1990s to build relief sewers in the areas with frequent sewer backups. The city says that work covered only part of the city. (City of Birmingham, Fire Department, Flooding)

Birmingham says each road reconstruction project of the past 25 years included a sewer review and, where needed, new relief or storm sewers. (City of Birmingham, Fire Department, Flooding)

The city advises homeowners to install a backflow preventer on the sewer lateral, keep downspouts off the lateral and extend them at least six feet from the building. (City of Birmingham, Fire Department, Flooding)

Birmingham adopted a Storm Water Utility Fee in 2016, based on the volume a property sends to the combined sewer. Owners can earn credits for rain barrels and similar measures. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, OCWRC RainSmart Rebate)

Birmingham is one of the 14 communities whose combined sewage flows to the George W. Kuhn Retention Treatment Basin, which the county runs. (Wikipedia, George W. Kuhn Retention and Treatment Basin)

The city Engineering Department works on water quality in the Rouge River and Quarton Lake, and it handles floodplain matters and soil erosion permits. (City of Birmingham, Engineering Department)

The city's water and sewer page says frozen-pipe thaw crews using an electrical welder can start fires or damage nearby property through stray current. The city tells owners to check that a thawing contractor is insured. (City of Birmingham Public Services, Water and Sewer)

Flood history

Birmingham sits in two watersheds. Its southeast part drains to the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, Local Watersheds)

The Main Branch of the Rouge River crosses western Birmingham, and the city belongs to the Alliance of Rouge Communities. (City of Birmingham, Engineering, Local Watersheds)

After rain on May 25, 2011, the Rouge River through Birmingham ran at 348 cubic feet per second against an average of 29. The record was 426 in 1991. (Patch Birmingham, Viewfinder: Rouge River Flowing Fast After...)

In May 2011 Birmingham reported no major road flooding and credited clean catch basins. The city still took several calls about flooded basements. (Patch Birmingham, Viewfinder: Rouge River Flowing Fast After...)

On August 11, 2014, 4 to 6 inches of rain fell in 4 hours across Wayne, southern Oakland and Macomb counties. This is the National Weather Service regional record, not a Birmingham gauge reading. (National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac, August 11, 2014...)

NOAA's August 30, 2013 episode narrative names Birmingham as the north edge of a flash flood zone, with 2 to 3 inches of rain in a couple of hours. (NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2013 details file, event ID...)

• Water damage in Birmingham
• Fire and smoke damage in Birmingham
• Storm damage in Birmingham
• Basement flooding and sewer backup in Birmingham
• Sump pump failure in Birmingham