News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Algood is experiencing flooding issues in the south and around Cooper Road.
Building Inspector Bob Lane said the time has come to consider strengthening the water retention and detention pond regulations in flood prone areas. Lane said water runoff is supposed to remain the same before and after construction.
“As you continue to get growth and you take pervious areas and make them non-pervious,” Lane said. “Which means they can’t absorb water anymore, it’s pavement and concrete and rooftops, the water has got to go somewhere.”
Lane said that single-family residential homes are exempt from water runoff regulations. However, Lane said this might not be a good idea in some areas that are prone to flooding and restrictions could be placed if the home is contributing to flooding.
“What we would do, we would have to amend the subdivision regulations to incorporate this,” Lane said. “Then we would have to look at the areas in Algood that’s prone to this. And assign them this type of a rating.”
He said addressing flooding will not be a quick fix. However, Lane said this might be a topic discussed at the next planning meeting.
“We’ve got about three sinkholes in Algood that handle all the water,” Lane said. ‘So that water is cut down to a small amount on the intakes when they go in those sinkholes.”
Lane said retention and detention ponds can only be built to the standard of predicted weather events. Whether that be a 25, 50 or 100 year flood plan.
“If you have a 500 year rain event, everybody’s going to get water, no matter what,” Lane said. “That doesn’t happen every time it rains, luckily.”
The next Algood Planning Commission meeting is set for March 25.
