CINCINNATI — Cincinnati city leaders are holding a press conference Thursday morning to announce resources available for residents who were hit by recent flooding after two major storms hit the Tri-State in the past week.
According to a release sent out Thursday morning, City Manager Sheryl Long, Interim Assistant City Manager Cathy Bailey, Metropolitan Sewer District Director Diana Christy and Greater Cincinnati Water Works Deputy Director Jason Fleming will all be present at the press conference, scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
WCPO will be at the meeting, and we plan to stream it live in this story at 10:30 a.m.
The release says the press conference is to "share information and resources for residents impacted by the extreme rainfall and subsequent flooding on July 17."
Several Cincinnati neighborhoods grappled with flash flooding that damaged homes and businesses during storms on both July 17 and July 21.
Neighborhoods in Hyde Park, Colerain Township, Oakley, Mount Lookout and more have been cleaning up water damage for around a week since the two rounds of heavy rainfall caused floodwaters to cover roadways and rush inside buildings.
Many in the city have speculated as to why flooding hit the neighborhoods so badly this year. Residents along Observatory Avenue in Hyde Park told us they believe the failure of a nearby sewer main could be to blame.
Neighbors said the street flooded Friday and Tuesday during storms. They said the manhole cover of a sewer main on the street shot off during the storm, causing water to gush onto the road and into their homes.
Others have eyed a Duck Creek floodgate that appeared to not operate properly during the July 17 round of storms; Residents and business owners who watched floodwaters overtop the Duck Creek channel told us the Duck Creek floodgate never closed.
Following that storm, city leaders told us they are reviewing the system again. Though officials said there has been no confirmed failure, they are investigating whether the system operated as designed.
Greater Cincinnati Water Works said the city's Stormwater Management Utility is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review video footage and sensor data to determine whether the floodgate operated properly.
A spokesperson for MSD said they've received nearly 1,500 reports of suspected sewer backups since Friday.
They said the July 17 rainfall was so intense that it exceeded the design capacity of the public sewer system. They added that no modern sewer system is designed to handle a storm of that magnitude.
Anyone with reports of sewer backups can report those to MSD 24/7 by calling 513-352-4900 or reporting problems online.
