There are two things that everybody agrees on regarding the weather in Ringgold's historical downtown district July 9 from 7-9 p.m.: It was hot - really hot - and it rained hard for 30 minutes.
Whether there was 1.5-2 inches of rain or 5-plus inches is up for debate, but there's no doubt that the result was a lot of water. Water rose high enough under the railroad underpass near the Ringgold Depot to float a car. Stormwater runoff behind the Nashville Street storefronts brought water into multiple stores, requiring two to shut down for at least the rest of July.
"It's been a long time since that overpass backed up," said veteran City Manager Dan Wright. "That much rain in that short of time feels like an act of God."
Well-known attorney and former state Rep. McCracken Poston owns the Nashville Street building that houses Caffeine Addicts. The local coffee shop was flooded with 8 inches of water and has been closed since July 9. Ringgold Art and Frame Gallery next door had the same amount of flooding and closed. It was scheduled to reopen Tuesday.
Flooding forces temporary closure of Ringgold businesses
Raye Brooks and Denni Thomas are among the numerous small business owners in the historic section of downtown Ringgold. Their leased spaces are located side by side on Nashville Street.Both Brooks’ Ringgold Art and Frame Gallery and Thomas’ Caffeine Addicts have been out of business since July 9, when an isolated storm dropped inches of rain in a matter of minutes and caused the drainage system in the area to back up and flood. Brooks was scheduled to re-open Tuesday; Thomas’ opening date still unknown.“The good news is that we didn’t have to pay sales tax this month,” said Brooks as she began moving inventory back into the gallery last week.The “numbness” Thomas described feeling the night of July 9 — when the community, including members of the Ringgold City Council and fellow business owners, rallied around 10 p.m. to spend up to five hours sweeping water out of downtown storefronts — has given way to anticipation of re-opening.“When I walked in here that night, it was like ‘I am going to have to close,’ ” said Thomas, a single mother who bought the coffee shop in December 2018. “Everything I own is in this store. Now, I am just ready to get back to work and get my employees back to work.”None of the businesses in downtown Ringgold had flood insurance, because none are in a designated flood plain.Thomas said she has lost $10,000 in sales and will pay $6,000-$8,000 out of pocket to buy new furniture, inventory and a freezer. Brooks said she will pay at least $10,000 out of pocket for repairs and lost an estimated $30,000 in inventory.“The water was about 8 inches deep and I just remember watching original paintings floating out the door,” said Brooks, one of the founders of the Ringgold Downtown Partnership whose business has been on Nashville Street since 2001.Brooks said over the years she has experienced worse downpours at the business that didn’t result in flooding.Development behind Nashville Street, including City Hall and a new Downtown Development Authority project, has increased the amount of stormwater runoff in the area.The major drain in the area was built in the late 1990s and runs beneath the storefronts, under Nashville Street and on to South Chickamauga Creek.The city installed a new pipe under Nashville Street as part of its downtown landscaping project following the 2011 tornado that tore through Ringgold, killing eight.At the city council’s July 22 meeting, councilors authorized City Manager Dan Wright to seek estimates from engineering firms for a study of the drainage system downtown Ringgold and in other locations where stormwater runoff is an issue.
"I've had an office downtown for 30 years," said Poston, who also owns the building housing his law office one block up Nashville Street. "I have seen it rain harder than this, and we didn't get this kind of flooding."
The National Weather Service does not provide daily rainfall amounts in its daily historical readings, and the information was not readily available from the service's Atlanta office.
WRCB-TV Channel 3 Chief Meteorologist Paul Barys said his Ringgold weather watcher reported only one-tenth of an inch of rain fell July 9.
At the Ringgold City Council's regular meeting July 22, Poston questioned whether new development and the parking lots added behind the Nashville Street storefronts are having a negative impact on the stormwater drainage system.
The large City Hall parking lot uses impervious asphalt, causing stormwater to run off into a retention pond and then into drainage system.
A smaller lot developed by the Downtown Development Authority is part of a new, mixed-use office building located between City Hall and Nashville Street. Its design uses pervious asphalt, meaning the water is expected to be absorbed by the asphalt.
"Using that asphalt got around them having to put in a retention pond, and it just does not work," said Poston.
To make his point, Poston went to Facebook and posted several videos he narrates about the parking lots and drainage system. Included was his "scientific experiment" that consisted of pouring water on both lots to see if it would be absorbed.
"Just seemed like a good way to make people aware of what's going on," said Poston. "None of the water was absorbed. We do have a problem, and we cannot deny it."
Three members of the city council - Mayor Nick Millwood, Kelly Bomar and Randall Franks - were among the 125-150 people who went downtown July 9 to help sweep water out of businesses.
The council authorized Wright to seek proposals from engineering firms to do a study of the drainage system behind the Nashville Street storefronts and other locations where Wright said backups occurred. He said the city already inspected some areas with cameras and found no blockages, and that a project is underway to install another catch basin in the area.
"The city is not dodging anything," said Wright. "If there is something that needs to be corrected, we will wholeheartedly work as hard and diligently as you can to make it right."
Contact Davis Lundy at davislundy@aol.com.