detroit at work northwest activity center

“An increase in the number and intensity of severe storms may further expose Detroit’s existing vulnerabilities in stormwater management and water quality,” the report said.ĭetroit’s combined sewer system, which collects water from both sewage and rainfall, is vulnerable to flooding and can easily get overwhelmed when there’s too much precipitation. But extreme weather patterns also contribute to increased precipitation, leading to flooding along inland bodies of water as well.Ī report on climate change in Detroit by the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments from 2014 predicted the city would struggle with flooding as climate change intensifies. Rising water levels are commonly associated with oceans as rising temperatures melt polar ice caps. “Our infrastructure, especially in Detroit, just can’t handle these extreme weather events.” Flooding on Belle Isle. “Some of these dramatic storms have hugely detrimental impacts,” Lisa Wozniak, executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said. In 2020, substantial portions of Belle Isle were underwater for days at a time. Water from the Detroit River overwhelmed barricades and spilled into the streets in Jefferson-Chalmers on the east side. Probably the starkest demonstration of climate change’s impact on Detroit came in July 2020. “But we’re regularly seeing extreme events very much tied to climate risk.” “People think Michigan is a safe haven,” Justin Onwenu, a community organizer in Detroit for the Sierra Club, told Planet Detroit. And the city’s high levels of racialized poverty will complicate those challenges. In a crisis that will leave no corner of the globe untouched, Detroit will have its own unique challenges to deal with. After all, the Midwestern city is fairly far north, buffered by freshwater seas, and receives a fair bit of precipitation.īut our fair city is hardly immune. And sea levels continue to rise perilously high in Miami.īut away from the coasts and dry climates, Detroit would seem well-insulated from the worst impacts of climate change. Yet another hurricane ripped across Louisiana. Wildfires burned through California, destroying 9,200 structures and over 4 million acres of forest.

This past summer, Americans got a preview of the devastating effects of climate change. The solution? Building resilience with the basics. While it may not see hurricanes or wildfires, climate change will present Detroiters with challenges. If you appreciate our in-depth reporting and you can help us pay for it, please become a recurring donor to Planet Detroit.

Detroit at work northwest activity center