The work that changed the course of the stream, including the construction of the lanes of Avenida Ipiranga, began during the administration of Mayor Loureiro da Silva.

It earned its name because it used to flood its neighborhoods, such as Menino Deus or Cidade Baixa, on days of heavy rain.

[10][better source needed] As of 2018, it is estimated that it receives about 50,000 cubic meters of sediments and waste per year, besides the sewage from three neighborhoods, requiring periodic dredging.

The sediments of the Dilúvio are contaminated with potentially toxic metals (Zn, Cu, Cr, and Pb), with these concentrations increasing the closer it is to the lake's mouth.

[14][15] The two universities wanted to adopt the model used to restore the Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul, South Korea, which similarly flows through a large urbanized area of their city.