- After heavy rains left flooded streets and basements behind in East Lansing twice in the past two months, the City of East Lansing held a listening session for residents to share their experiences.
- The city will compile the data gathered Thursday and use it to determine where improvements can be made to make sure infrastructure in the neighborhood can handle future heavy rainfall.
- Video shows one neighbor in attendance Thursday sharing his experience, as well as what officials say the city is working on to prevent issues in the future.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
My neighborhood has been especially impacted by flooding in recent months. From totaled cars in parking lots to water-filled intersections and basements. It's a problem many neighbors have experienced firsthand. And Thursday, neighbors shared their experiences with the city.
"This is the second time this has happened in three years," Steve Betterly said.
Steve Betterly was one of those in attendance on Thursday. He says after the last round of heavy rainfall, both basements of the rental duplex he owns flooded, damaging some of his tenants' property.
"So much rain came so fast that the water was moved through the basement floor drains, and I had about six to eight inches of water in both basements," Betterly said.
He says he's concerned the flooding in East Lansing is becoming more common.
"The August, I think of 2021, similar rain storm, similar flood," Betterly said. "I thought, 'Well that's a 50-year storm, so you know hopefully it won't happen again.' Three years later it's happened again, so I'm much more concerned this time around."
City Manager Robert Belleman says the city has taken note of the more frequent severe rain events and will take the data collected Thursday evening into consideration for part of their "Wet Weather Resiliency Plan," which will take a look at the city's infrastructure to make necessary long-term changes to ensure it can handle increased rainfall.
"We're trying to gather all that information and get a better understanding of how our system is working, how it's impacting residents, and look at some of the steps that we can take so we can mitigate," Belleman said.
Steve says he's hopeful that the city's findings from Thursday's event will lead to changes that can help if the neighborhood sees heavy rainfall again.
"I am encouraged that the city is trying to address the concerns of property owners and residents," he said.
City Manager Belleman tells me the findings from Thursday's listening session will be compiled into a report that will be presented to the City Council on September 10.
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