City’s ‘resilience’ efforts should continue

As I was reading through the opinion section earlier this week, I was struck by [Chattanooga Times editorial page editor] Pam Sohn’s editorial on the historic amount of rainfall that we have had in the region this year. I certainly have noticed more rainy days. But Pam is right — the rains don’t just dampen your afternoon plans. They also put significant strain on our infrastructure. It seems as our city grows and new development pops up, we are seeing more flooding from the summer afternoon storm, let alone the sustained periods of heavy rain.

I am encouraged the issue of resilience is getting more attention. I know Mayor Andy Berke’s office is partnering with other groups to develop plans to help the city and the region better prepare for weather events like heavy rainfall.

Through some of my quick research on the subject, I saw from the Pew Charitable Trusts that investments in flood mitigation can save six times the amount of money in prevented recovery cost. A new report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental

Relations estimated Tennesseans could see a 13:1 return on investment in resiliency. Talk about a bargain.

Pam, thank you for elevating this important issue, and I look forward to reading more about what our city is doing to protect against flooding. Ellen Sawyer, Hixson