Metro Council Takes A Second Look At Flood Protection After Heavy Hurricane Season

Officials with Metro Water Services will make another pitch Tuesday evening for a $100 million flood protection system to keep downtown Nashville dry. The hearing was scheduled after the city of Houston flooded during Hurricane Harvey.

Mayor Megan Barry wants the Metro Council to approve funding for a pumping system and flood wall around Lower Broadway. The council
pulled the project from the mayor’s construction budget earlier this year.

Vice mayor David Briley, who leads the 40-member council, said last month some kind of action needs to be taken.

“If we are going to build it, let’s go ahead and do it so we don’t have plans on the drawing board when we have the next flood,” he said. “The council is going to have to look closely at it and reach that conclusion.”

If the council decides the wall isn’t worth the money, Briley says businesses and developers working in the area that flooded in 2010 need to know so they can make their own preparations.

The flood mitigation plan has been around since the administration of Karl Dean. Metro Water director Scott Potter says he now 
plans to start at the beginning in making his case.