Water coming up a floor drain in a Westland basement raises one question before any other: did the city's sewer fail, or the line that runs from your house to it? The answer decides who pays. Here is what Westland asks residents to do, in order, and what to do for yourself while you wait.
Call Public Service, or the police after hours
During business hours, call the city's Department of Public Service at 734-728-1770. After hours, call the Westland Police Department at 734-722-9600, and they will notify Public Service (City of Westland, Sewage Disposal and Storm Water).
Do this the day you find the water, even if you are sure it is your own pipe. A call puts the backup on the city's record on the date it happened, and that date matters for the next step.
Put your claim in writing within 45 days
Westland tells residents who want compensation to give written notice within 45 days. The notice needs your name, address, and phone number, the address of the damaged property, the date you discovered the damage, and a brief description of what happened. The city says plainly that missing the notice requirements may prevent you from recovering damages and bar the claim (City of Westland, Sewage Disposal and Storm Water).
The deadline is not Westland's own rule. It comes from state law, which says a claimant is not entitled to compensation unless the city is notified in writing within 45 days after the damage was discovered, and which also says you cannot unreasonably refuse to let the city inspect the damaged property (Michigan law on sewage backup claims, MCL 691.1419). Count from the day you found the water, not the day a plumber told you the cause. Send the notice early, because filing on time does not mean getting paid, but filing late almost certainly means not getting paid.
What usually causes a backup
The city names two culprits it sees often. Flushable wipes, which despite the label do not break down fast enough and end up stuck in private sewer leads and the public sewer. And fats, oils, and grease, which pour off as liquid and set up as a plug in the pipe. Both are partly a household habit, which is worth knowing before you assume the main failed.
Westland scores 39 on the Basement Risk Index, 55th of 116 metro communities, with about 33 percent of homes built before 1960 and a median year built of 1969. That puts it well below the older inner-ring suburbs next door. The score is modeled from housing data, not measured house by house, and it does not tell you anything about your street's sewer. A 1960s ranch can back up as easily as a 1940s bungalow.
What to record before you touch anything
Take photos of the drain, the waterline on the walls, and every damaged item while it is still where it landed. Write down the date and hour you found the water and roughly how deep it got. Note when you called Public Service and what they told you. Keep every receipt for pumping, hauling, and replacement. A folder on your phone is enough.
Then get things drying. 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). Anything porous that sat in sewage, like carpet and drywall, usually has to go.
Whose pipe was it
If the crew finds the public sewer working and the blockage in your lead, the repair and the cleanup are yours, and a plumber with a camera can tell you whether roots, a collapse, or a grease plug is the cause. If the public sewer was the problem, your written notice is what keeps the claim alive. Either way, pull out your homeowners policy the same week. Many policies exclude sewer backup unless you added a water backup endorsement, and that endorsement may be the only coverage you have for your own-line case.
Keeping it from happening twice
A backwater valve on the sewer line is the fix that targets a backup specifically, and FEMA lists a sewer backflow valve among the steps worth taking (FEMA, Protect Your Property From Flooding). As a planning range, a retrofit runs $1,500 to $3,500. If your trouble is seepage and not sewage, start cheaper. Clearing gutters, extending downspouts, and regrading so the yard slopes away from the house run $0 to $200 and are the first things to try.
Wet basements are worth testing against the source before you pay for a fix. A drain that fills during a storm points at the sewer. A damp wall after a long rain points at the yard.
Sources reviewed
Primary sources checked October 2026:
- City of Westland, Sewage Disposal and Storm Water, cityofwestland.com.
- 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.