10/28/2009 6:00:00 PM Mayor asking
state agency to study flooding
By LEAH TOLBERT Staff Reporter
Engineers from the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation District were to tour areas of the city today where flooding has occurred in recent years, the mayor said.
They are going to present recommendations as to how to minimize the flooding issues on homes, businesses and property in certain areas of the city, Mayor James A. Young said.
Water rushed inside several homes in various parts of the city in late September when more than three inches of rain fell in about 45 minutes, flooding nearly 20 streets, four of which had to be closed in part.
WHOC, the official recording agency for the National Weather Service, reported 7.07 inches of rain in Philadelphia from Sunday, Sept. 20 through Saturday, Sept. 26.
The city received 4.52 inches rainfall on Tuesday, Sept. 22, the heaviest of which occurred shortly after 6 p.m. when most of the problems occurred.
The hardest hit areas were along Valley View Drive and Beacon and Main streets, the mayor said.
Homes in west Philadelphia were also affected.
Marthis Riddle, who lives on the corner of Bell Avenue and Rea Street, told aldermen last week that water was left standing under her home during the recent flash flood.
Riddle said she had previously complained about the flooding issue and would continue to do so until someone listens to her.
She called one alderman asking that the city pump the water from under her home in the wake of the last flood but nothing was done, she said.
She told aldermen that the city needed to improve the drainage system and install drains in the western part of the city like those seen on Myrtle Street.
Riddle said her house sits at the bottom of a slope in a swamp area, which she paid no attention to when it was purchased in 1964.
She had three children and needed a home at the time so she jumped at the opportunity to purchase the house, she said.
When she presented her case to the previous administration, Riddle said she was laughed at and felt ridiculed by the board.
"I asked for a drainage system like the white folks have," she said. "For that I was called a racist. Disagreeing with policy does not make me a racist! I do not hate anybody!"
She expressed concern that black residents are treated differently than white residents when it comes to flooding issues.
Riddle told aldermen she watched while the city repaired a drainage system at a white friend's house on Center Avenue, when at the same time she had complained to the city about the same problem but had not received any assistance.
Mayor Young advised Riddle that under state law, city officials could not work on private property.
Young said he was not aware of what occurred prior to his administration, but told Riddle that everyone would be treated the same under his administration.
