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Detroit is starting a program to reduce chronic basement flooding during intense storms.

The program initially will target two neighborhoods and later expand to others, Mayor Mike Duggan said.

The strategy follows major rain events last summer that left thousands of basements flooded across the city.

Backwater valves or sump pumps will be installed in basements of homes. The valves open only when sewage is leaving a home. Sump pumps move water from a basement’s lowest point out of the home.

The initiative will be paid with federal money, up to $6,000 per household.

Phase one will launch in spring in the city’s Aviation Sub and Victoria Park neighborhoods. Phase two will start in summer in nine other neighborhoods.

A state of emergency was declared for Detroit and surrounding Wayne County communities following daylong rain in late June that flooded freeways and streets. More than 6 inches of rain fell in parts of the Detroit area, overloading sewer systems and flooding basements with rain water and sewage.

A few weeks later, another storm caused even more flooding.

Topics Flood Windstorm Michigan