Preventing sewage from backing up into your basement is our highest priority when too much rain gets into the sanitary sewer system. Unfortunately, our only weapon in that battle is a relief valve that sends excess water to the nearest river or lake, an overflow pipe. 

As a region, we've invested more than $4 billion to reduce sewer overflows.  Even though we're not done with all the work, this massive financial commitment to our environment is paying off.

Prior to our overflow reduction efforts and the Deep Tunnel, this region used to pollute Lake Michigan with an average 8 billion-9 billion gallons of sewage every year.