Soddy-Daisy receives grant to repair flood damage

Little Soddy Creek is choked with debris one day after a deadly flash flood in the Depot Street area on Sept. 27, 2018. Soddy-Daisy recently received a grant to stabilize portions of the creek bed along Depot Street and at the end of Durham Street.
Little Soddy Creek is choked with debris one day after a deadly flash flood in the Depot Street area on Sept. 27, 2018. Soddy-Daisy recently received a grant to stabilize portions of the creek bed along Depot Street and at the end of Durham Street.

Following flooding in September 2018 that killed one resident and caused about $1 million in damage to local property and infrastructure, the city of Soddy-Daisy has received a grant for an Emergency Watershed Protection Program project.

Administered by the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Emergency Watershed Protection is a federal emergency recovery program that helps communities rebuild after natural disasters.

The grant funds can only be used to protect roads, bridges and structures in "imminent danger," said City Manager Janice Cagle.

The 75-25 matching grant awarded to Soddy-Daisy is for a total of $428,000, with the city contributing $107,000, Cagle said.

Work will be done in five different locations along Little Soddy Creek - the only areas to meet the program's "imminent danger" requirement - to shore up the creek bed by bringing in riprap (large rocks) and other stabilizing materials, she explained.

One of those areas is on the end of Durham Street, and the others are located along Depot Street, she said.

Mayor Geno Shipley credited U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann for helping the city attain the grant.

"He worked real hard to get that grant real quick," said Shipley.

Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com

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