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Stormwater drainage study identifies
opportunities to reduce City flooding
The City of Oak Hill’s engineering firm, Kimley-Horn and Associates, recently concluded Phase I of the Citywide Stormwater Drainage Master Plan Study that was begun last year.
The purpose of this study was to identify opportunities to reduce flooding and protect surface water quality throughout the limits of the City. The engineers began the process by collecting comments from staff and citizens of the City at a public hearing that was held at Judson Baptist Church. There were also comment cards posted on the City’s website for individuals who wished to comment but could not attend the public hearing. This information allowed Kimley-Horn to focus attention upon areas within the City that were known to be prone to drainage issues.
While it would have been our desire to never have had the flood of May 2010, the timing of the event could not have been better in that it took place during the information collection phase of the study. In so doing, it provided us with valuable information to include in the report. While the City could never realistically engineer a solution to handle the amount of water that came during that event, the information collected did provide us with valuable data that can be of benefit when developing solutions to the more routine weather events that we encounter.
Three main tasks took place during Phase I of the study. I will discuss each of these tasks below and will also comment on what Phase II and Phase III of the study will entail.
Phase I: Identify infrastructure
The first task of Phase I was to identify all of the major stormwater infrastructure components that exist within the City. This includes items such as culverts under roadways, catch basins, and detention and retention ponds. However, this does not include smaller culverts under driveways, as these are the property of individual landowners and serve as that owner’s access to the City street.
The second task was to identify the primary drainage basins and sub-basins within the City. The study found seven primary drainage basins within the City. Each of these basins was then broken down into sub-basins, which yielded a total of 36 sub-basins.
The final task of Phase I was to prioritize these 36 sub-basins as to the areas that presented the greatest drainage problems. Several sub-basins were grouped together for this task as certain conditions made it logical to combine them for future phases of the Citywide Stormwater Drainage Master Plan Study. This process yielded 12 priority areas to be considered.
Phase II: Drainage modeling
Phase II of the project will entail drainage modeling of the prioritized areas. This modeling process will yield a computer-based model of the area that can be used to determine the impact that changes would have on the overall drainage patterns of these areas. For instance, proposed new construction could be included in the computer model to determine if it would have a negative impact on the drainage basin. If so, the builder could be required to take measures to negate this impact before approval is granted for the project. Additionally, solutions could be developed for the City to implement that would improve the overall drainage of the area based upon existing conditions if the current drainage infrastructure is insufficient to meet the area’s needs.
Phase III: Funding and construction
Phase III of the project would simply entail funding and construction of any improvements identified by Phase II of the study. The results of this study could be used to seek grant funding to assist with the improvements. Even with grant funding, some portion of the project would have to be funded with local dollars. Unlike many other cities, including Metro, the City of Oak Hill does not collect a stormwater management fee. As a result of this, funding for the improvements would have to come from the City’s general fund. It is possible that Phase III for some areas of most concern could be undertaken prior to Phase II being implemented for areas within the City that received a low priority score.
Anyone interested in reviewing the full document can do so by visiting the City office. The full document is much too large to be posted on the website.
As always if you have any questions about this, or any other matter, do not hesitate to contact the City office.