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Storm event floods training area, closes roads and increases sewer flows; city crews respond
Summary
Department heads reported that heavy rains caused St. Johns Creek to flood a fire training area, closed Westlink Drive briefly, and led to roughly 7 million gallons of additional infiltration during the rain event; city crews worked through the event and closed and reopened facilities as needed.
Department heads told the council on April 7 that a storm event over Friday and Saturday caused flooding in several city locations and produced a large spike in wastewater and storm flows.
Tony (public works) reported that St. Johns Creek came out of its banks and filled the fire training area and that Westlink Drive was closed briefly; the city closed the recycle center that Saturday because water covered the access road. "We closed off Westlink for a while and I think it was on or around 04:00 or so we were able to open the road back up," Tony said. Staff drove heavy equipment to protect assets and moved a wheel loader and other machines out of flood-prone locations.
Kevin (wastewater/stormwater) reported infiltration into the sewer system during the storm. "We manned it from Friday afternoon all the way till Saturday afternoon, rotating shifts. We took in an additional 7,000,000 gallons of, fluid and liquid during that event on top of our normal flow," Kevin said, and added that normal flow at that time is about 2,000,000 gallons, so the total moved during the period was roughly 9,000,000 gallons.
Staff also reported logs and debris moving down the river and warned residents not to put boats in the river when flows are high because of rescue risk. Crews monitored manholes and pump operations; staff asked residents to report any flooding problems so crews can address issues.
No ordinance or contract decisions were made on the storm report; it was an informational department-head update.
