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East Ridge approves ACE Engineering contract to inventory stormwater assets after heavy August storm
Summary
After the Aug. 12 storm that dropped 6.7 inches of rain in less than three hours, council approved a contract with ACE Engineering to map and prioritize stormwater assets, a process staff estimated would take 4–6 months and enable future grant applications.
The East Ridge City Council on Oct. 23 authorized a stormwater asset inventory and master‑plan start with ACE Engineering to identify drainage assets, assess conditions and prioritize projects after severe flooding this summer.
City Manager Miller and ACE representatives said the city recorded 6.7 inches of rain on Aug. 12, 2025, which exposed deficiencies in local conveyances and left streets and parks inundated. Jeff Sykes of ACE Engineering (present at the meeting) told the council the firm will perform a GPS‑based inventory, condition assessments and an initial prioritization to produce a draft stormwater master plan designed to help the city qualify for state and federal drainage grants.
ACE estimated the initial inventory and plan elements would take about four to six months; the scope includes Spring Creek and West Chickamauga Creek, photo documentation of obstructions, and a ranking of assets by condition and criticality. Staff warned that many concrete flumes and engineered conveyances in the city were built by developers decades ago and, in many cases, are on private property. Miller said plat language frequently shows private‑property responsibility for those flumes, meaning the city will have to make case‑by‑case determinations about taking assets into public maintenance.
Council members asked about contingency amounts for land surveying, the need to secure private‑property access to inspect buried culverts, and whether removing fallen trees or obstructions could produce near‑term benefits. ACE said a portion of obstructions can be removed without lengthy permitting and that the plan would help target inexpensive fixes first. The council approved Resolution 37‑52 to proceed with ACE Engineering on the assessment and master‑plan tasks.
The city said the work will allow it to prioritize projects, assemble cost estimates and seek grants for large conveyance repairs.
