Consultants outline eight flood-mitigation alternatives for Helena and West Helena; residents urge faster action

Consultants for a watershed planning effort presented eight alternatives to address chronic flooding in Helena and West Helena at a community meeting, detailing specific site projects, rough cost estimates and next steps while urging community feedback.

The presentation, led by Julius (team modeler/executive) and Kelly Eubanks of Key Concrete and Construction, described a tiered scoring system that ranks candidate projects by flood severity, infrastructure impact and public input. "Each of the projects has to go through a process to get a number of where this project scores," the team explained during the meeting, and said public feedback from earlier outreach materially influenced which alternatives were advanced for study.

Among the site proposals, Julius highlighted a Highway 85 project to extend an undersized culvert (from under 100 feet to roughly 175 feet) and raise the roadway profile to reduce upstream pooling; he estimated that work at about $7,000,000. He also described airport-area work that would rely heavily on earthmoving — clearing and widening channels and adding culverts — which he stated was "roughly about $84,040,000." Rondo Road improvements to upsize culverts and increase ditch capacity were estimated at about $1.7 million.

For neighborhoods inside the city limits, the team proposed a mix of subsurface drainage (pipes), widened and cleaned open channels and spot detention or retention features. On Tenth and Fourth streets in Helena-West Helena they proposed inlet installations at intersections and a detention/retention pond to receive runoff; for Lincoln Court, the work would focus on upsized reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) culverts (speaker cited 42-inch and 36-inch examples) and expanded conveyance so water reaches an existing creek without a new detention basin.

Consultants also emphasized nonstructural strategies to complement construction options, including updates to department codes, voluntary buyouts (which the presenters said are not currently active for this project), floodproofing for structures and other policy measures. "These are systems — they are designed to all work together," Kelly Eubanks said, adding that any relocation of residents would be a community-led decision.

The presenters named partner organizations and sponsors, including Olson Engineers (strategic technical partner), FTN (lead technical support, joining remotely), the Arkansas Black Mayors Association and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Kenneth, a lead consultant, stated the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection program exists but said he does not directly work with that program and that other agencies may offer assistance.

Residents were given multiple ways to comment as the team completes cost-benefit and environmental justice reviews and prepares a draft plan: a notice of availability will be posted before the next meeting (the presenters said to expect follow-up in September), and a hotline, dedicated project email and QR code were offered for submitting information or evidence of local impacts.

At the public-comment period, resident Sean Foreman described repeated flood damage to his home and urged neighbors to engage. "It's very discouraging…I'm getting old, and I just—it's very discouraging to continue having to refix the house," Foreman said, adding he will continue attending meetings until projects are implemented.

Next steps outlined by the team include completing detailed cost estimates, running cost-benefit and environmental justice analyses, coordinating with county officials because outfall locations may lie outside city limits, and selecting a sponsor-preferred alternative for federal or state funding pursuit. The project team will remain available after the meeting for one-on-one questions.