Emily Davenport, Valdosta Stormwater Manager, sent a letter 2 June 2014
to attendees of the 6 May 2014 Army Corps of Engineers presentations,
with paper materials attached, and a note that they are also online at
Stormwater Division, Regional Flooding. [Not there anymore, but see updated first bullet item below. 2018-01-28 -jsq]
This one is just the presentation by the Corps.
See also: Continue reading
In these videos of
the initial flooding study
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
you can see they’re the Corps, all right: they want to build a levee.
They did emphasize that this was just an initial study on
what could be done inside Valdosta, and their main conclusion
was that there was enough need to indicate federal interest,
as in possibilities of getting federal funding for solutions.
City Manager Larry Hanson got the Corps to confirm (several times)
that Valdosta alone couldn’t stop the flooding, since the vast
majority of floodwaters comes from upstream
on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers.
Later that same evening in response to citizen questions
at the Valdosta City Hall Annex, the Corps clarified more that
they did understand there were issues of impervious surfaces
and development and loss of wetlands and they wanted to
do a much larger study of the entire watershed,
which could take several years to accomplish.
They kept emphasizing that the Suwannee River watershed
is one of the largest in the country, and there are also
flooding problems on the Suwannee River, which could be important
for obtaining federal dollars.
As we already knew, Valdosta has funded projects already started
to move the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) uphill
and to add a force main to prevent manhole overflows.
People
downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.
Here’s
a video playlist, followed by images of the Corp’s slides and of the City Council, and some notes.
Tonight we get to hear twice about the long-awaited
flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
once with no citizen input at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
and then with citizen input at Valdosta City Hall Annex.
Presumably this study will say something about the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the new
force main to prevent manhole overflows, and
maybe some upstream measures to keep quite as much water from getting there.
This study only addresses issues within the city limits of Valdosta,
not the larger watersheds upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers
and downstream: that will take more funding.
People
downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.
Maybe that SPLOST money will build that force main and stop this.
Meanwhile, they don’t call it Sugar Creek for nothing.
And Twomile Branch flows into Sugar Creek, which flows into the Withlacoochee
River, which flows into the Suwannee River through Florida into the Gulf of Mexico.
Today we’ll probably see stories from Florida about river water warnings.
Winnie Wright wrote for WCTV 18 March 2014,
National Flood Preparedness Week Comes to Valdosta, Along With The Rain,
It’s pretty ironic that National Flood Preparedness Week has come
right alongside 5 inches of rain in South Georgia, but for residents
of Valdosta who remember the flood of 2009, that much rain can be a
real problem if you don’t have flood insurance.“Many people don’t realize that flood is not covered in their
homeowners policy. It’s important to know what is and isn’t covered
in your homeowners policy”, says Christi Marsh, a State Farm Agent
based in Valdosta.
Winnie Wright reports homeowner Carrie Eager found flood insurance preferable
to evacuating by boat like before.
Seen Saturday near old Pine Grove School.
NPDES is
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System:
Water pollution degrades surface waters making them unsafe for
drinking, fishing, swimming, and other activities. As authorized by
the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating
point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United
States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or
man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal
system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do
not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other
facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to
surface waters. In most cases, the NPDES permit program is
administered by
authorized states.
Since its introduction in 1972, the NPDES permit program is
responsible for significant improvements to our Nation’s water
quality.
Yes, I know Valdosta also does this.
I like it that in a subdivision in an unincorporated part of Lowndes County
that the county does this.
-jsq