Examining efforts to prevent flooding across metro Detroit

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Posted at 6:11 PM, Apr 18, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-18 19:20:10-04

(WXYZ) — In tonight's 7 UpFront report we're taking a look at efforts to prevent the same types of flooding that filled metro Detroit's freeways and homes last year.

Joining us to talk about it is University Research Corridor Executive Director Dr. Britany Affolter-Caine, who is part of an effort by researchers at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University to come up with solutions to the problem.

You can see the full interview in the video player above.

"This roundtable is a series of three events that we are having related to a report that we just put out through URC, conducted by Public Sector Consultants that's focused on our researchers' efforts across our three universities, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University looking at the environmental impacts on human health, things from flooding, PFAs, and the like," Affolter-Caine says. "And today's conversation was focused on flooding due to failing infrastructure, which many of your viewers here in Detroit have, unfortunately, personal experience with. It's also an issue that expands beyond the Detroit region to places like Midland and Houghton and other places. And so, our effort in this roundtable was to bring in key people from our universities, from the communities, from the public sector, and from the private sector to have a conversation because each person is an expert in one particular area of a complex puzzle and from coming together we can share that information and, hopefully, come up with a more comprehensive solution to the issue."