Dear Mr. David Armstrong,
My home in the Pond Creek Area has suffered severe damage from the flooding
this year. I built my home here unaware that it was a flood plain. Humans
have modified the environment in this area, and this is one of the reasons
I think my home is sunk in water. The other cause of flooding to my home
had to do with topographic features.
These features can be simply identified. The land is poor-draining soil
that often floods during heavy rain. Many call it "slack-water flats."
The large pond overflows and meets the backwaters of the rising Ohio River.
During dry periods the standing water still covers thousands of acres.
I bought this land cheap and now I know why it didn't cost me an arm and
a leg. The floodwall gates couldn't even be brought up in time because the
water came too fast. It came up through everything like floor drains, toilets,
bathtubs and pools. There was a pumping station and a floodwall with all
the luxuries, but they didn't work.
In my opinion the flooding problems were mostly poor design and maintenance
of the giant drainage ditches. I have seen trees growing in the bottom of
the ditches; we need to cut them down. Like my neighbor, Jack Farley, said,
"The ditches were built incorrectly, the banks are too steep. You've
got a nice, wide ditch going into a little creek." I totally agree
with him. We just tore up this land without even considering the consequences.
I guess we were all in a rush to make ourselves good homes but now they're
all gone and we are mostly at blame.
Over the years, residents and developers have fought government efforts
to ban construction in the flood plain; to freeze construction in the ponding
areas; to have MSD make needed changes in drainage and charge the residents
who would benefit; to let MSD obtain maintenance easements
along ditches; to raise mobile homes off the ground for their own protection.
Now we will need to work together getting these problems solved before we
move on with our lives. This may cost us $16.4 million just to improve and
maintain the existing drainage systems, but 95% of us want this done. Seventy-five
percent of the cost of buying homes will be from federal funds.
I truly believe that after a whole century of mistakes there still could
be a good approach to floodway management, and I think that those houses
that cannot be repaired should be rebuilt in another area, not a flood plain.
Later in the future federal money could be raised and saved to buy out all
those flood-prone properties and make a much better subdivision that can
overcome flooding before any damage.
I appreciate your time and effort. Please get back to me with a response.
Thanks a lot,
Jeanette Thompson
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