A Letter From Your City Engineer
Dear Residents,
We have received a tremendous amount of feedback and concern regarding the recent flash flooding event which occurred on November 7th. This rain event was the first substantial rain event the City experienced following the impacts of Hurricane Helene which occurred on September 26th. During the rain event, a record breaking 10.5" - 12" of rainfall fell on our City and overwhelmed our already overtaxed drainage infrastructure. This amount of rainfall was charted to be between a 1000-yr and 1500-yr rain event. None of the public or private stormwater infrastructure within the City is designed to sustain such an event even in pristine operating conditions. The natural drainage ways which meander through our City, many of which are located on private property in austere locations, were partially blocked by debris accumulation which worsened the impacts of the flash flood event.
As a result, our community endured widespread localized flash flooding and catastrophic damage to residences, places of work, as well as public and private drainage and roadway infrastructure.
Rest assured, we are doing everything in our power to better understand our resiliency gaps, resolve flooding issues with meaningful and well-designed improvements, and repair the numerous locations of roadway damage throughout the City. In tandem with this recovery effort, our stormwater maintenance and inspection schedule mandated by the state must also be sustained as we prepare for another - hopefully less eventful - year of inclement weather. Progress isn't made over night but instead is achieved by steady commitment and execution in alignment with a well-defined plan of action.
As the coming weeks unfold, I would ask you to please continue in the patient neighborly spirit of Valdosta and of the season. We have many challenges to overcome in our execution of repair plans but we are doing everything in our power to solicit help from federal and state agencies and to make urgent repairs as quickly as possible.
Thank you,
Benjamin O'Dowd
City Engineer