Petersburg leaders, USACE unite to tackle flooding risk after devastating storms
VENN
PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) -- After devastating flooding throughout the city in July, Petersburg leaders and the federal government are starting to come together to address the high flooding risk created by the neglected Appomattox River.
In mid-July, much of Central Virginia saw repeated heavy downpours as rainstorm after rainstorm hit the region. Petersburg was hit especially hard, with leaders declaring a state of emergency as city residents were washed out by significant flooding.
Mayor Samuel Parham later stated that the neglected Appomattox River was to blame for how badly the city flooded, as it had not been dredged properly in decades. Until excess silt has been removed, Parham warned that Petersburg's flooding risk would remain high.
As to why the river hasn't been dredged, Parham pointed the finger at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
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“For decades now, shall I say over 50 years, we have been asking the Corps of Engineers to do the proper dredging that needs to be done,” Parham said during a previous press conference.
The Corps disagreed with Parham's depiction of events, saying the city has to request the USACE's aid and that it had not done so recently.
“It’s really on both sides to work together and it has been a while, you know,” said USACE Norfolk District's Chief of Water Resources Keith Lockwood in a previous interview with 8News. “We would like to reach out to the City of Petersburg. They have not reached out to us recently.”
In late August, 8News reached out to USACE for an update on this situation.
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The Corps of Engineers told 8News that it was in talks with the city of Petersburg. It reportedly plans to perform a site visit at the Appomattox in the near future to evaluate next steps on dredging the river.
No additional information is available as of the time of reporting.
This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.
