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Cincinnati Repairs Floodgate, Approves Emergency Aid and Moves to Create Flood Task Force

Repair of the Duck Creek gate plus council measures to fund relief and plan green infrastructure aim to speed recovery and outline a path for costly long-term upgrades

Overview

  • Back-to-back storms on July 17 produced severe flash flooding across the East Side neighborhoods of Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park and Oakley and caused the Duck Creek floodgate to fail during the event.
  • Officials have repaired the Duck Creek gate and plan to staff it when rain is forecast to ensure proper operation and allow manual shutoff if needed.
  • The Metropolitan Sewer District has logged more than 1,800 damage reports with over 900 meeting eligibility for its cleaning-services program and continues to process a high volume of claims.
  • Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously to set aside $1 million in immediate relief, has discussed a second motion that would bring total set-aside funds to $2 million, and officials say federal disaster aid is unlikely.
  • Council referred a motion to the full body to pursue green infrastructure, watershed-based planning and a Flood Resilience Task Force as residents press for accountability and engineers warn that full system upgrades will cost hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.