Inundation and Injustice: Flooding presents a formidable threat to the Great Lakes region

Editor’s note: This story is the introductory piece in a six-part collaboration — “Inundated: Flooding and vulnerable communities in the Great Lakes region” — that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Grist, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation. To read a Spanish version of this story, click here. Click here for highlights from the story. Archaic wastewater systems, crumbling infrastructure and segregated housing create a perfect storm of flooding vulnerability in cities throughout the Great Lakes region. Rural areas, Indigenous communities and ecosystems in the Great Lakes also face severe risk from flooding, endangering hard-fought gains in environmental restoration and community development. It is crucial to make sure the communities most affected by flooding have leadership roles in developing and implementing policy. While new federal funding prioritizes environmental justice and community participation, much effort is needed to not only bring local leaders to the table but make sure grassroots organizations actually have the capacity to meaningfully participate. This summer’s Independence Day weekend was meant to be a historic moment for Chicago, featuring the first-ever NASCAR street race with cars speeding through the city’s downtown. But these plans were partially derailed as history was made for another reason. Record rainfall inundated city streets, flooded underpasses and swamped more than 2,000 basements, many with sewage. Like many climate disasters, the flooding disproportionately impacted the city’s most vulnerable, such as immigrants and communities of color. The swollen Chicago River’s flow was reversed, allowing stormwater and untreated sewage to pour into Lake Michigan, the drinking water source for millions. Mayor Brandon Johnson, who lives on the city’s West Side, which was hit hard by the flooding, described the disaster as a sign of climate change and a harbinger of things to come. As this six-part collaboration will highlight, cities throughout the Great Lakes region face similar crises, with archaic wastewater systems, crumbling infrastructure and segregated housing creating a perfect storm of flooding vulnerability from sources that range from excessive rain and overflowing rivers to lake storm… Read More
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