Number of Homes Flooded Again in LG

The more than eight inches of rain that fell in La Grange last Thursday morning amounted to a 200-year flood event, according to La Grange City Manager Shawn Raborn.

Raborn said floodwaters entered several homes around town.

“I have not heard how many homes got water in them,” Raborn said. “But I know a number of the same ones that flooded in May got water in them again.”

The flood of May 17-18 began with more than two inches of rain falling within 15 minutes. Another five inches fell over the course of 24 hours. This time around, more than eight inches of rain fell in three hours.

“The amount of rain that fell within a three hour time window – it’s a 200-year event,” Raborn said. “We have had too many of those this year.”

Raborn said he knows of one house near the corner of Jackson and Fannin that had never flooded in anyone’s memory. Water entered that house in May and again last week. He said the City is investigating similar cases of localized flooding.

“We don’t have a problem area-wide, it’s small individual areas,” he said.

He said the City may be able to mitigate those issues through a grant that the City has applied for in conjunction with Fayette County. He said the grant program has earmarked about $20 million hazard mitigation projects in La Grange and Fayette County.

However, Raborn said building infrastructure to withstand a 200-year flood event may be cost prohibitive.

“The probability of designing (projects) to 200-year event is highly unlikely because of the cost impact,” Raborn said. “Do we build to a 200-year flood? These are unique events. It may not happen again.”

Kayla Crumbly, a resident on N. Monroe Street, last week reported large amounts of debris that had been swept from neighboring properties into her yard.

She said the City needs to do a better job of enforcing ordinances concerning brush in yards.

On Monday, Raborn acknowledged the problem, saying residents need to call the City for pickup whenever they accumulate piles of brush. He said many residents had accumulated brush at their curbsides in anticipation of the fall clean up, when the City normally picks up brush for free. He said the City will not offer free brush pickup this fall due to a labor shortage.

The City charges a small fee for brush pickup. Raborn asked residents to utilize the service.

“We’re doing pickup on a case-by-case basis,” Raborn said. “If you have brush, please call it in. There is a small fee to do it.”