Ryan Lewis
Correspondent
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – After severe flooding overwhelmed the town on Dec. 9, the South Pittsburg City Commission decided to move forward with preventive measures.
“We’re getting more water in less time because of the forest cutting and development on the mountain,” South Pittsburg Mayor Mike Killian said at the commission’s January meeting. “We’re not trying to stop the development, but it’s pretty obvious to us that the water is coming faster.
“I’m not looking for anybody to blame,” he said. “The city is going to do everything we can to try and fix this thing the best we can. But I’ve got to say that the logging (and development) has contributed to this.”
The December flooding was most severe along Third Street in the downtown area and between 18th and 19th streets in the Richard City area.
Officials said some work has been done to alleviate the problems, but more must be done soon.
“We were overwhelmed at every ditch and drain for up to two hours,” Mr. Killian said. “The good news is only a handful of people got flooded. The last time it was 50 or 60 that got flooded.
“We got out of it better than we could have, but it’s obvious to me that we’ve got some stuff we’ve got to do here.”
Mr. Killian proposed that a restraining wall between 18th and 19th streets be raised by 3 1/2 feet because drainage water must make a near-90-degree turn at that point.
Additionally, Mr. Killian recommended the 19th Street bridge be replaced, and a restraining pond be built at the corner of Third Street and Pine Avenue, which the commission approved.
In the downtown area, crews recently found that about 25 percent of the drains along the streets were stopped up with debris, which could cause additional problems with another heavy rain.
Commissioners approved cleanup of those drains to begin immediately.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com