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Clawson councilors seek engineering study to price fixes for chronic neighborhood flooding
Summary
At an April 22 budget workshop, councilmembers and staff agreed Clawson lacks a comprehensive engineering analysis of chronic flooding in neighborhoods including Broadacre/Bywood and Elmsford; staff outlined localized fixes and rough cost ranges and recommended funding targeted studies to produce firm price tags for the budget.
Clawson councilmembers at a April 22 budget workshop pressed staff for engineering studies to quantify solutions and costs for chronic neighborhood flooding that has persisted for more than a decade.
Jamie Gills Takonochi, a Clawson resident who spoke during public comment, warned that “our revenue is not growing as fast as inflation” and urged the council to prioritize spending on infrastructure that reduces harm to residents. Councilmember Timlin said the council needs data: “I want to know if we what funds we'd have if we wanted to [commission an] engineering study for these chronic reoccurrences,” he said, describing repeated complaints at Bywood/Broadacre and other locations.
An AEW representative, Mike Smith, described the city's combined sewer system and how restricted catch‑basin covers are used to retain water on roads. Smith said a basic 4‑ft catch basin could cost roughly $4,500, but tying basins into a functioning system — including pipes and pavement repairs — could push individual locations into the low tens of thousands of dollars. He cautioned that short‑term containment work can be wasted if a later, larger reconstruction changes street grades.
Councilmembers framed the engineering study as a necessary step to translate recurring complaints into budgeted projects. “We need to understand what the cost is so that it can be built into the budget,” one councilmember said during the discussion. Staff recommended targeting studies to the worst‑affected blocks first (for example, the corner of Broadacre and Bywood), then rolling findings into capital planning or bond project lists.
Why it matters: Residents have reported repeated street and driveway flooding and occasional basement penetration in low‑lying parts of the city. Without engineering analysis, councilors said, the city cannot reliably estimate whether mitigation requires a modest, maintainable intervention or a reconstruction that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What’s next: Staff told councilors they can provide a scope and cost estimate for a targeted study and identify budget lines for short‑term mitigation versus long‑term reconstruction. Councilors also discussed moving some mitigation items into existing bond or capital plans where appropriate, and asked staff to return with clearer price tags and timelines at upcoming meetings.
