Mayfield, Kentucky, Working on Flood Mitigation
Crews in Mayfield, Kentucky, are working to reduce the chances of flooded roads.
Creeks in the city recently flooded, causing water to cover roads. According to Mayfield Public Works Director Russ Brower, one type of debris is causing the most trouble for his crews, reported WPSD Local 6 News.
The water levels are low for now, but it could be a different story later this week. Our biggest obstacle is trees right now, because in the high winds the trees that were damaged during the storm are still falling into drainage ways," said Brower, reported WPSD Local 6 News. "They hang on bridges and obstacles that's hard to get to. And when the creeks are full, it just makes it that much harder to get them out."
The last tornado in the area was Dec. 10. According to Brower, his crews work to clear tornado debris before the next set of storms roll through.
"With such a small crew working the tornado damage and then trying to prepare for large rains that would flood us in a normal condition, so it is very, very difficult,” Brower added.
The week of Feb. 14, there were large amounts of rain that impacted the city.
"In last week's event, we had some flooding in places not normally, but it was because of the basins being stopped up by construction debris. So we're working hard to keep all those clean," Brower said, reported WPSD Local 6 News. "We drove over and cleaned all basins in the city of Mayfield, and we're primarily ditches, main drainage ditches, trying to clear those today."
As a result of these frequent rain events, rain cleanup will occur regularly, especially as spring nears. Community members are also encouraged to assist with flood mitigation by cleaning up any debris in storm drains near their homes. Those who remove debris are asked to set it out for the Public Works Department to collect, reported WPSD Local 6 News.