When it Rains, It Floods

Dear TDOT,

If it rains, it floods! Anyone that has walked anywhere in Tuscaloosa while it is raining or has rained in the past 12 hours knows what that means. It is amazing to me that you allow this problem to progress. As the TDOT Storm Drainage Division, I believe it is your responsibility and obligation to handle this problem. Increased maintenance and additional piping are positive changes that will lead to the overall success in the drainage of Tuscaloosa as a whole as well as the University’s campus. Tuscaloosa’s flooding problem effects many people in a number of ways and can lead to financial and health risks, there are many possible solutions out there and they need to be executed without hesitation.

Fixing up our drainage system is not something that can wait. While the solution to Tuscaloosa’s flooding problem may be costly, the cost of doing nothing will be much greater. I would rather have our public resources used to prevent damages caused by flooding then fixing the damages after flooding has already taken its toll. If you live in Tuscaloosa, you are affected by flooding in some way. It affects many people’s wallets, time, safety and if you walk to classes like me, your shoes! I preformed a survey asking students if they thought flooding was a problem on campus. The result was no surprise. Nineteen out of 20 students checked very bad and the other student checked bad. The slightest drizzle causes large puddles everywhere. I can’t tell you how many times what seems like a light rain has caused water to pile up everywhere making it next to impossible to get to class without destroying my shoes. The average cost of 4 inches of flooding in a household is $11,480 the cost of each sidewalk square to be replaced from erosion due to flooding is $80, not to mention landscaping fees due to flooding as well as underwater flooding which can cause serious health risks to entire communities. Our personal safety is also at risk. Thousands of college students walk to class everyday. When water piles up on our roads it causes cars to hydroplane. I’m sure you don’t want the death of students on your hands and cars can easily hydroplane into an innocent student when it could be easily avoided. With the number of houses, sidewalks and landscapes in Tuscaloosa constant flooding it is eventually going to take toll and be extremely costly.

You solicit that your mission is, “Dedicated to the efficient operation and maintenance of all pipes, channels, creeks, inlets, and other drainage structures within our jurisdiction. In addition, we perform new construction projects to correct drainage problems for the citizens of Tuscaloosa. To protect and improve local water quality, we strive to ensure that only rain goes down the drain.” Actually I don’t believe much of anything is going down the drain. When it does actually storm, the streets turn into the Nile River and the quad transforms into a swamp. It is unacceptable that you promise your dedication to drainage in Tuscaloosa and yet we still have flooding from sprinkling.

So what should you do about this? My first thought would be to send people down there to clean the piping and make sure water is able to flow smoothly down the drains. This is a simple, cheap way to help. Drains are often blocked by illegal landscaping and fencing. Simply driving by and removing any objects blocking drains will help. While these are simple, easy ways to attempt helping out I don’t think they can fix the problem alone. Basically we need to rethink the whole design of the Tuscaloosa drainage system. Additional gutters need to be added at the points of water build-up on streets. Obviously water flows downhill. So, why do I see more drains up by the recreational center then down by the quad, where all the water flows down to and piles up. The street’s water pile up, could also be decreased by fixing the curbs. Larger, deeper curbs could hold a greater amount of water and would also allow the water to run smoother down the curbs to the drains. Sump pumps need to be available in large fields. When that water just sits there in the mud and accumulates different organisms and fungi, it can be harmful to people’s health and also causes a very repulsive smell.

I do believe this problem is your responsibility to address, but you do not have to do it all on your own. As you may know, the University has a great engineering program. If you made suggestions to the engineering board, I’m sure they would be happy to help. Not only would it be helping them by solving the flooding issue but the engineering majors could obtain great real world experience in engineering by calculating solutions to this problem. This could also make your job a lot easier.

Flooding is a problem for everyone. It would make many lives easier if it is improved. If it is not addressed soon it will lead to extremely large economic problems and possibly death. There are solutions out there and people that can help. Please fulfill you obligations and improve the lives of us all in Tuscaloosa.

Sincerely yours,

Group 8