City Residents Sound Off About Sept. 8 Floods

Sept. 8 is a day Joan Neiman will never forget.

It was the day heavy rains slammed Northern Virginia causing flooding virtually throughout the entire region. For Neiman and her husband, it caused sewage from a City of Falls Church sewer line affected by stormwater, to escape into the basement of their home. At a town hall meeting Monday, Neiman described the day almost two feet of black water flooded her basement.

“The FCFD (Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department) advised us to shut off our electricity, confirmed 18 inches of sewage and said a neighbor had approximately 30 inches of the same unspeakable stuff,” she said during the meeting at the City of Falls Church Community Center.

Dozens of city residents and elected officials attended the meeting, many to discuss their anger about flooding caused by what they felt could have been avoided. Some residents questioned the capacity of the city’s stormwater conveyance system that allows rain to flow through pipes to nearby streams. During his 30-minute presentation Bill Hicks, director of public works for the city said the flooding was a major event and could have been worse if there was more rain. He said he would meet with City Manager Wyatt Shields to discuss the comments from Monday’s meeting and figure out what to do next. A new vacuum truck that will be used to remove debris from the conveyance line is expected to arrive in mid-November. Hicks said the truck would allow the city to clear the conveyance line to allow stormwater to flow freely.

Susan Douglas lives in a split-level home in the City of Falls Church and where most people have a basement, she has her kitchen, family room and dining room. In 2004 when she was told she lived in the city’s new flood plain, she had to buy flood insurance. She said her insurance wouldn’t cover her in the case of flooding like Sept. 8 because of the way her home is situated inside. She said she has spent about $20,000 in repairs on her home from the flooding on Sept. 8.

“That’s not even including all of the furniture I had to replace,” Douglas said. “It’s frustrating that I have to pay for flood insurance but it doesn’t cover me. It’s a problem and I will get a lawyer.”

Vice-Mayor David Snyder said the flooding issue is something that definitely needs to be looked into. He said the infrastructure used to rid the city of stormwater needs to be strengthened in order to avoid another serious flooding.

“I think we need to move forward with a more aggressive capital program, put a price tag on it and bring it to the people,” Snyder said.