Blog: City Blog

Long-Time Flooding Locations Faring This Week’s Rains Well after Drainage Improvements

Drainage repairs made on Westland Drive in 2016.

With 3 inches of rain over the weekend and showers expected to continue into next week, Knoxville’s stormwater infrastructure has been continuously at work, moving waters through the pipeline to prevent flooding.

“We live in the hilly Tennessee Valley, so obviously there’s going to be some level of flooding,” said Chris Howley, Stormwater Engineering Chief. “Our job is to anticipate and prevent flooding when it comes to new construction, and try to mitigate flooding issues that were grandfathered under prior environmental regulations.”

In the past with a similar rain event, the City would receive dozens of calls regarding flooded roads and properties. Since rain began Saturday, the City has received a total of 11 complaints, none of which have been what used to be considered the problematic flooding areas.

What’s the difference? Three locations that used to be some of the City’s biggest flood risks have received significant drainage improvement work in recent years:

Drainage improvements at Cross Park Drive

Cross Park Drive: Located near I-40 and Cedar Bluff Road in West Knoxville, the $3.7 million drainage system can now handle a water flow of more than 280,000 gallons per minute.
Prosser Road: The $1.4 million drainage improvements to reconstruct 1,600 linear feet of Prosser Road between Knoxville Zoo Drive and Magnolia Avenue was completed in 2014.
Westland Drive: About 1,000 linear feet were reconstructed on Westland Drive west of Papermill Drive. The $2.2 million project included reconstruction of the drainage system under four driveways and the installation of a 14-by-7 box culvert that replaced an aging bridge.

Drainage improvements at Prosser Road

It took a $7.3 million total investment to repair the three sites.

Stormwater infrastructure is a complex system of hundreds of miles of drains and pipes that have a simple purpose: Getting rain waters quickly and safely off of roads and properties.

“These three projects are a great example of how, through investment, we can reduce flooding and improve safety throughout our community,” Howley said.

To view a local WATE news story of what drivers used to experience on Cross Park Drive before the $3.7 million drainage improvement project, click HERE.

Posted by On 16 February, 2018 at 4:19 PM