DETROIT – A west side Detroit man said he’s fed up with what feels like a permanent puddle in front of his home, and he feels like the city hasn’t done enough to fix it.
After every heavy rain, water pools along where Teoma Griffin lives, on Meyers Road, and can sit for weeks.
Something that she and other neighbors told Local 4 creates a headache.
“It’s infuriating,” said Griffin. “It’s insulting.”
Griffin moved into his home in late 2023. He says since then, the street floods during heavy rains, and water routinely pools on his side of the street because of what he believes are drainage problems. He shared photos showing standing water.
He said in the summertime that standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Griffin said he began calling the city and submitting work orders in 2024 to ask why this keeps happening. He said he was told to make sure his catch basin was clear of debris, something he said he does.
“Nothing happens,” Griffin said. “I saw a vacuum truck one time and after that, nothing. I call again, they say wait two weeks, there’s a work order in.”
In the meantime, the standing water has created a different kind of neighborhood tension. Griffin said yard waste crews won’t pick up bags placed in front of his home when the water is there, so he’s started placing them in front of neighbors’ houses instead.
Neighbor Adrianna Culbreach, who also sees water pooling in front of her home, said she understands Griffin’s frustration but isn’t thrilled about the extra bags in front of her property.
“I don’t too much like it,” she said. “But I’m not about to be like a pain in the butt about it, because I understand they’re not going to pick it up from down there.”
Culbreach also said that when the water is pooled in front of her home, it blocks the curb. This has resulted in her hitting it several times with her car.
On Wednesday afternoon, after Local 4 contacted the city on behalf of Griffin and other residents, Detroit crews were sent to the block. Workers cleared the standing water and checked the catch basin. They also spent time for over an hour looking into the problem.
Ericka Meah, chief operating officer for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, said the city has documented calls of Griffin reaching out.
“We do have a record of there being calls in this area in 2025, and we have gone out to clean,” Meah said. “We are currently routing a truck over today to clean that area, and they will do a full investigation just to see if there is, in fact, an issue deeper than the top surface level of the catch basin.”
And she added that an investigation can take an hour or a few hours to look at the basin. If it seems to be a little more complex, crews will come back in-house and then have engineering go out and do an in-depth look.
Meah said the department has a program that cleans roughly 8,000 catch basins per year. It’s a seasonal program that starts late April or May, depending on the weather, and the crews are dedicated to only cleaning the basins.
Meah urged residents to do their part by keeping debris away from the basin so blockages don’t form.
Residents with similar drainage concerns are encouraged to contact the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to report issues. That’s 313-267-8000 or use the city app.