PENDLETON COUNTY, Ky. — In April, significant flooding from the Licking River poured into the streets of Falmouth and Butler, leading to emergency evacuation orders.
It's been more than eight months, but the damage from the flooding is still being felt in parts of Pendleton County. We covered the initial destruction left behind.
The flooding also led to the death of Robert Singleton, a beloved Pendleton County man who many knew as "Boo".
Tami Vater, the county’s fiscal court economic and tourism director, said it became clear after the flooding that change was needed.
“I think that resonated in our minds that every day we have to think about floods,” Vater said.
Learn how Pendleton County officials are hoping to reduce the risk of future flooding in the video below:
Vater said both Butler and Falmouth’s proximity to the Licking River means residents often deal with flooding concerns.
“We want to know that when we get up every morning and go to bed every night, that if the river is coming up, is it going to be in my backyard?” Vater said. “Is it going to take my home?”
Because of April’s flooding, the county began looking for solutions.
Vater said the county is prioritizing a “floodplains sink” or “green sink” initiative. The project would create large, bottom-permeable basins designed to capture and store floodwater.
“The water will go into this basin, that basin holds the water with a permeable bottom and it slowly leaks back into the earth instead of traveling down the river and flooding homes and businesses,” Vater said.
The sinks would be constructed on land owned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Vater said FEMA owns nearly 100 properties in Falmouth.
“We are targeting those properties because they are already vacant,” Vater said. “They can’t be developed.”
Vater said the county and both cities are on board.
However, she said the project is still in the early stages. An engineer will need to be hired to determine where the sinks would work best before construction can begin.
She said the initial engineering study would cost about $53,000, which would be divided between the county and the two cities. Butler and Falmouth have committed $11,000 toward the design phase.
The county fiscal court would cover the remaining $31,000 if approved.
“Time is not on our side,” Vater said. “We don’t know when the next flood will be, so the quicker we move through this, the quicker we will feel safer.”
Vater said the project would be a cheaper alternative to a standard flood wall others have suggested.
Kentucky State Rep. Mark Hart said he agrees.
“I took the initiative to try to make this a regional approach instead of just a one-county approach,” Hart said.
Hart, the former mayor of Falmouth, said he’s encouraging other counties along the river to consider the same initiative.
“If we can get this established everywhere along these rivers, it’s going to help reduce what the state spends when a disaster hits,” Hart said.
Hart said he plans to meet with officials from Pendleton, Harrison and Bracken counties, as well as the state, to introduce and explain the concept in hopes of gaining support. The meeting is set for Dec. 10.
