Posted on November 15, 2018
Jimmie Stephens has known for decades that flooding along Valley Creek was a problem. On Tuesday, he said work has begun to fix it.
“I guess the thing that surprises me is we’re so late in doing something about it.”
Last week, Stephens joined nearly 40 other local officials, including the mayors of Bessemer, Brighton, and Hueytown to meet with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to search for a simple albeit difficult answer: How do you stop the flooding?
A three-year study by the corps will seek to identify multiple options. Stephens said engineers have already discussed constructing retention ponds, dredging the creek beds and buying some of the most vulnerable homes along the banks. The final solution could end up including all three options.
Rescue crews in Brighton were forced to remove people from their homes near Valley Creek because of flash flooding. It wasn’t the first time.
Latonya Bender manages a daycare center out of her grandmother’s old Brighton house. She said emergency crews had carried her grandmother out of the house when she was alive during a previous flood. Bender said she was forced to send kids home during the the September storm. Now she is preparing to move the daycare center somewhere else.
“Most of these houses are damaged from flooding so they’re just sitting empty, bringing the property down for everyone,” said Bender while looking down her empty street.
“It gives me hope. Maybe they can do something about it that will help everybody.”
A follow-up meeting with corps engineers was scheduled for January. County officials believed federal funding could pay for 65% of the eventual project. Local municipalities would have to pay for the rest. Stephens estimated the total cost for the corp’s recommendations could be $11-15 million.
“Help is on the way and it may not be a complete cure or fix depending on the situation but we promise that it will be better.”
Source: abc3340
