Mount Lookout residents packed Christ the King Catholic Church on August 3, pressing four Cincinnati City Council members for systemic fixes after two devastating July flash floods left homes gutted and businesses shuttered across the East Side.
The nearly two-hour meeting drew Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney, Councilmember Mark Jeffreys, and two other council members to the Linwood Avenue church for what Mount Lookout Community Council President Brian Spitler had organized as a roundtable with city leaders, WLWT reported. Residents were not in a patient mood.
They called for more green space and water-absorption areas, changes to zoning laws to curb stormwater runoff from new development, and long-term infrastructure investment. One resident urged the city to require that any new residential or commercial project offset the stormwater it creates, arguing the change could be made immediately without waiting for larger capital projects.
Council members acknowledged the scale of the problem. Fixing the flooding could require hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, they said. Jeffreys told attendees the city's starting point will be a 30-day after-action review of the floods.
Kearney conceded the city ignored warnings. A 2020 infrastructure study flagged the same vulnerabilities residents are now living through, and the city never acted on it. "In terms of that 2020 study, in hindsight you know we shoulda paid attention, but because I think it was six years ago and things have gotten a heck of a lot worse since then," Kearney said, according to Fox 19.
The city is now exploring a long-term emergency fund with insurance companies to provide immediate financial help after future storms.
What's at stake
Spitler, who conducted a neighborhood survey that drew 60 respondents, told Local 12 on July 31 that many residents reported being denied MSD assistance because their flooding was not classified as a sewer backup. He said Mount Lookout is coordinating with Hyde Park to present consistent priorities to council.
The city has said 40 property owners affected by the Duck Creek floodgate failure have been contacted and will have access to separate recovery funds. Mayor Aftab Pureval previously announced a $1 million relief fund for east-side homeowners and businesses hit by the July 17 and July 21 storms, and Kearney indicated council would vote on an additional $1 million.
Jeffreys filed a motion in late July calling for watershed studies of Mill Creek and Duck Creek, examining underground tanks, permeable pavement, bioswales, and rain gardens. The motion also asks the city to reconsider replacing the Madison Road Bridge, which has been flagged as a restriction to flood flows. The city has $500,000 already budgeted in the Mill Creek Watershed for near-term mitigation.
Upcoming
- Tuesday, August 4: Climate, City Services, and Infrastructure Committee meeting, 10 a.m., City Hall, 801 Plum St. Metropolitan Sewer District officials expected to address the floods.
- Wednesday, August 5: Full City Council vote on flood recovery funding.
