April Showers Bring …. More Flooding to Christiansburg, VA?

May 15, 2009 there was a bit of a ‘hitch in the get-a-long’ for many Christiansburg, VA residents. An ‘unusual’ amount of rainfall led to buildings being flooded, sewage backing up into homes, backyards all but disappearing in mudslides, and a lot of angry citizens. (See photos)

During that time period I took a lot of photographs and was sent photographs by other citizens. All of those were posted online at myvaresources.com’s photo gallery.
The photo albums currently posted are:

Additional problems arose during the year but not to the same level of magnitude. We have had a wet winter. The ground is pretty much saturated. Development and the amount of impervious spaces have grown. All of those factors contribute to the likelihood that similar events could well happen again this Spring. In fact, they could be even worse.

I have added a couple of additional photo albums to that site now. They all deal with Cambria because I live there and due to the threat of flooding, I can not leave the area when it is raining. These photos will show why, one year later, I still have to get up and out in the rain, regardless of time of day to watch for problems. I will be more than happy to accept photos from other citizens and post them on the website as well.

Cambria is, by no means, the only area to suffer from the blight of stormwater management. It is a problem that can be found in new developments as easily as in older neighborhoods.

Growth is inevitable. It will happen. However, it is the responsibility of the Town Government to make sure that growth does not happen in such a way as to have a negative impact on existing neighborhoods. Citizens (taxpayers) should not be expected to foot the bill for changes in their property that are directly related to newer developments that have evolved around them.

I’ve been accused of having a hidden agenda….well they’re right. I do have a hidden agenda in all that I have done on my website and my blog. That agenda is: That all citizens, regardless of age, race, sex, economic status, registered to vote, renter/owner, and any darned thing else they can throw out that tries to show that one group or person is more important than another, are ALL entitled to the same respect, consideration, and protection that the Town Government is suppose to provide. Elected officials have the responsibility of serving ALL the people, not just the few who elected them. Nor should any group of people be treated differently. And, ya know what? That little hidden agenda of mine isn’t going away, regardless of who gets elected.

How much more will have to happen to citizens homes and businesses before the Town takes some strong actions to deal with the issues that cause these types of problems? Will it affect you next time it happens?

Three of my special pages on the blog site at myvaresources.com/blogs/depotdazed are dedicated to stormwater, drainage, and flooding issues. It was suppose to have been only one page but the pure volume of information found in the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes (many of those are still not available), the Town Council Meeting Minutes, the Comprehensive Plan, the Christiansburg Town Charter and Town Code required 3 pages and several of those entries just direct you back to the sources because it would have been a dozen pages long otherwise. (all of these pages  — several other issues are developed as well — will be available in downloadable .pdf format soon)

• Drainage/Stormwater (2001-2003)
• Drainage/Stormwater (2004-2006)
• Drainage/Stormwater (2007 – 2009)