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Overbuilding raises flooding concerns for Nashville residents

Posted at 9:37 PM, Feb 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-19 23:25:31-05

NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — With all the rain we're scheduled to get one community is concerned about their homes.

People living in the Nations are prone to flooding and they want to see something done about it.

Councilwoman Mary Carolyn Roberts says when development started in this area no one thought about where all the rain and water is supposed to go.

She says it is a multi-million-dollar problem and her constituents want is solved soon.

“I've seen the water hitting that bridge and I said we better get out,” said Roger DeLoach.

Roger and Helen DeLoach have been living in there England Park home for nearly 60 years; and in that time the couple has experienced excessive flooding.

“I feel kind of sad because we have to get out,” DeLoach said.

DeLoach says he remembers having to evacuate his home just two weeks ago for heavy floods.

“That was awful.”

But what was really awful was the floods of 2010.

“Four in a half foot deep,” said DeLoach.

That's how much water came pouring into their home nearly nine years ago and the couple is afraid it could happen again.

“The folks that live down around England Park they literally have PTSD. When the waters came up in 2010 and all their houses were under water a lot of them barely got out.

Roberts says her constituents are suffering the negative consequences of too many homes in the area.

“We have overbuilt in a situation where there's nowhere for the water to go.”

Roberts says she wants to see all development in her district put on pause until the infrastructure problems are resolved.

“We don’t have enough surfaces that are not concrete; that are impervious and so what happened is we have sewage backing up in people’s houses, we water that’s going like a river into people’s basements,” Roberts said.

Meanwhile, the Deloach family is on standby tonight hoping they don't have to evacuate again.

“We do the best we can to get out to get out of here and get out of the low places,” DeLoach said.

This Week’s storms are not predicted to be anything like the floods of 2010.
Roberts says she is in discussions with the Mayor's office, metro water and the state about finding a way to resolve the issue.