Redford Township is some of the oldest housing in western Wayne County, and many of its basements are not young. When a floor drain starts bubbling, the township's first question is whether the problem is in its sewer or in your plumbing. That answer decides whether you have a claim at all.
Call the Water Department the moment you find it
The township asks residents to contact the Water Department at 313-387-2670 immediately upon discovery. After normal business hours, call the Redford Township Police Department at 313-387-2553 and they will contact the Water Department foreman (Redford Township, Sewer Backups and Basement Flooding).
Make the call even if the water is already receding. The call is the start of your paper trail.
The claim has to be in writing, and it has a deadline
Redford wants written documentation within 45 days of discovery. You can get the claim form by calling the same number, 313-387-2670, or download the township's form, titled Sewer Disposal or Storm Water System Event, Notice of Claim (Redford Township, Sewer Backups and Basement Flooding).
The 45 days is state law, not township preference. A claimant is not entitled to compensation unless the government agency is told in writing within 45 days after the damage was discovered, and the notice has to carry your name, address, telephone number, the property address, the discovery date, and a brief description of the claim (Michigan law on sewage backup claims, MCL 691.1419). The same law bars you from unreasonably refusing to let the agency inspect, so expect someone to ask to see the basement.
The catch the township spells out
Redford is direct about this one: for a claim to be viable, the source of the problem must be the municipal sewer. Problems caused by your property's plumbing or in your sewer lead are your responsibility (Redford Township, Sewer Backups and Basement Flooding). In a house this old, that is a real possibility. Clay lines from the 1950s collapse, crack at the joints, and fill with roots.
So file the claim, and also plan as if the lead might be yours. A plumber with a camera can settle it in an afternoon, and the footage is worth keeping whichever way it comes out.
Where Redford sits on the risk index
Redford Township scores 80 on the Basement Risk Index, 13th of 116 metro communities, with about 79 percent of its homes built before 1960 and a median year built of 1955. That is among the highest-risk scores in the metro. The score is modeled from housing data, not measured house by house, so it describes the housing stock and not any one sewer. What it does say is that most of the basements here have had decades to develop a crack.
What to document and what to dry
Photograph the drain, the waterline, and every damaged belonging before you move anything. Write down the date and time you found the water, who you called, and when. Keep every receipt. If the township sends someone, note the name and what they said they saw.
Dry things quickly. The EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth (EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home). Wet carpet and drywall that took in sewage are rarely worth saving.
Insurance, and fixing the cause
Look at your homeowners policy for a water backup endorsement the same week. Without one, a sewer backup is commonly excluded, and if the township's sewer was clean you have nowhere else to turn.
For the cause, a backwater valve is the device that stops sewage from coming back up the line, and FEMA recommends a sewer backflow valve for exactly this hazard (FEMA, Protect Your Property From Flooding). Plan on $1,500 to $3,500 for a retrofit. If the water is coming through the walls instead, downspout extensions and regrading run $0 to $200 and come first.
Sources reviewed
Primary sources checked October 2026:
- Redford Township, Sewer Backups and Basement Flooding, redfordtwp.gov.
- Michigan law on sewage backup claims, MCL 691.1419, legislature.mi.gov.
- EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, epa.gov.
- FEMA, Protect Your Property From Flooding, fema.gov.