DWSD History

The DWSD website includes only a short page on the history of the Department, but does link to a very nice document created in 2001 or 2002 on the Tricentennial of the founding of Detroit in 1701.  The report, entitled "Detroit Water & Sewerage Department: The First 300 Years" can be found and downloaded here.

Timeline: 

• January 18, 1914 - The 18th Street Sewer Explosion [PDF] 
• December 11, 1971 - Port Huron Tunnel Explosion [PDF]  

Additional Detroit Resources:




Other Sites of Interest:

• The History of Sanitary Sewers - http://www.sewerhistory.org/  -- This is a very interesting web site created and maintained by Jon Schladweiler, the Historian of the Arizona Water Association. Mr. Schladweiler has spent considerable time researching and collecting materials related to the history of sewage conveyance systems. The time period covered is from 3,500 B.C. to the 1930s.