weather

1st and Rhode Island Ave, NW taken by @BoundaryStoneDC

From a Press Release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced three short-term measures to lessen the impacts of flooding in the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods. DC Water, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) will implement these solutions as part of their work on the Mayor’s Task Force on the Relief of Flooding in Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park.

The two neighborhoods have suffered from overland flooding and sewer backups on multiple occasions this summer because of heavy rains and outdated sewer infrastructure. In response, Mayor Gray formed the task force to identify short- and long-range solutions to the flooding problem. The Mayor named City Administrator Allen Y. Lew and DC Water General Manager George Hawkins as co-chairs of the task force.

The short-term measures include:

· Analyzing the effectiveness of, and installing additional, storm drains in affected areas;

· Installing stormwater-retention features in the affected area to lessen runoff due to heavy rains; and

· Assisting residents in the neighborhood with installation of rain barrels to collect runoff from rooftops during storms, thereby decreasing the stormwater loads that the sewer system must handle.

“DC Water has been busy analyzing the causes of the problem, working with affected homeowners and doing long-term planning,” said Mayor Gray. “These three mitigation efforts represent the first tangible results from the Task Force, which brings DC Water together with other agencies and neighborhood residents. This is a good first step toward some much-needed relief.”

The stretches of road most susceptible to flooding have been the 500 and 600 blocks of Florida Avenue NW and the 100 block of Rhode Island Avenue NW.

“The District is coordinating all appropriate agencies to address this issue as quickly as possible,” said Lew. “The immediate goal is to intervene and redirect some of the overland water flow that caused the flash flooding and prevent it from threatening the homes in these neighborhoods.”

Continues after the jump (more…)

From a press release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced that he was establishing a flood prevention task force that will study the causes of, and short- and medium-term solutions to, frequent street flooding and sewer backups in the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods. In early July the area was inundated with flood waters three times, resulting in damage to dozens of homes and businesses.
“Residents of the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods deserve to enjoy a high quality of life and should not have to bear a disproportionately negative impact because of an aging infrastructure,” Mayor Gray said. “Just as I have done in asking a task force to look at solutions to frequent power outages, I am now asking officials, utility representatives and residents to work together to address the flooding and sewer back up issues that happen all too often in these neighborhoods While D.C. Water has already been working on long-term solutions, this panel will help us bring about short- and medium-term mitigation strategies.”

The task force will be co-chaired by City Administrator Allen Y. Lew and D.C. Water General Manager George Hawkins. The panel will investigate the causes of flooding in the affected areas and work to develop actions that may be taken by D.C. Water, other District agencies and residents to reduce the likelihood or severity of flooding and its consequences.

“As a member of the D.C. Water Board, I am acutely aware of the impact of the floods on the community. The task force will monitor the interim steps taken by D.C. Water to prevent or mitigate the flooding problems in the short term,” said Lew. “DC Water has already initiated closed-circuit inspections of sewers and, along with the Department of Public Works, is distributing sandbags for any impacted residents who want them. I look forward to working with the Task Force to examine these issues and to develop possible long-term solutions.”

The task force will transmit a written report to the Mayor no later than December 31, 2012. The task force will also estimate the costs to implement the necessary remedial measures and the time periods within which those actions may be implemented.

The task force will include four members drawn from residents of the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park communities. Mayor Gray has appointed one resident to the panel from each neighborhood, and Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie and Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham – whose wards include the affected area – will each appoint one additional representative to the panel.

Other members of the task force include: Councilmembers McDuffie and Graham; District Department of Transportation Director Terry Bellamy; District Department of the Environment Director Christophe Tulou; Department of Public Works Director William Howland; D.C. Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency Director Chris Geldart; Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs Director Nicholas Majett; D.C. Department of Health Director Dr. Saul Levin; and Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking Director William White.

You can read about the recent floods in Bloomingdale here and look at a sewage and plumbing map of DC here.