Cincinnati Councilman Mark Jeffreys filed a motion July 28, demanding the city conduct detailed watershed studies, impose stricter stormwater rules on new development, and make binding decisions on the Madison Road Bridge replacement and Duck Creek floodgate systems. It is the first formal Council-level action since back-to-back flash floods devastated Hyde Park, Oakley, and Mount Lookout on July 17 and July 21.

The motion sets 30- and 60-day review deadlines, according to Fox19, though the full text has not been publicly posted to the city's Legistar system as of Tuesday evening.

Council is on summer recess but returns for three days starting August 3, the first opportunity for members to formally take up the motion and a separate $1 million homeowner relief fund proposed by Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney.

What the motion targets

The July 17 storm dropped five to six inches of rain on East Side neighborhoods in roughly one hour. Metropolitan Sewer District officials called it a 1,000-year event. The city's investigation found the Madison Road floodgate at Duck Creek failed to automatically close during that storm because of a mechanical malfunction.

City Manager Sheryl Long said at a July 23, press conference that even a properly functioning gate would have protected only about 40 properties. "The gate is designed to control floodwaters immediately surrounding the Madison Road bridge over Duck Creek and does not affect flooding outside of the small print," Long said at that briefing.

A 2020 city-commissioned study recommended replacing the Madison Road bridge, but Water Works deputy director Jason Fleming said at the same July 23 press conference that the cost was "extreme" and the impact to surrounding property and infrastructure "massive." The replacement "was not determined to be feasible," Fleming said. Jeffreys' motion now demands the city revisit that decision.

Residents already counting costs

Oakley resident Paige Scheidler, who spent over $20,000 on a new hot water heater, HVAC system, garage door, and appliances after the July 17 flood, told WLWT on Sunday, July 26: "I really hope that the city is going to take a long and hard look at what is going on … This has been a consistent issue since 2016. So we're talking ten years."

Hyde Park resident Christina Rittenburg told Local 12 she faced $6,000 in furnace and hot water heater repairs, $2,800 in cleaning and restoration, mold remediation, and a month-old washer-dryer destroyed.

Neko Sushi owner Yeon Kim told WCPO her Hyde Park Square restaurant has flooded five times since 2018. Poeme stationery store owner Kristen Folzenlogen told WCPO that a planned development near Hyde Park Square sits "exactly where this extensive flooding occurred" and urged the city and developer to solve the drainage problem before breaking ground.

What comes next

Mayor Aftab Pureval's emergency declaration, issued July 21, remains in effect until no later than September 15. The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, led by President Valerie Woodham, is conducting a flood survey of residents and businesses to document the scope of damage and direct resources.

Council reconvenes August 3. Residents can track the motion and submit public comment through the city's online portal at cincinnati-oh.gov/council or attend the session in person at City Hall.