Swan Creek Flooding in South Toledo…
13 Feb 2009
A reader sent in these pictures via email of how things look in South Toledo, over on Edna Street where there has been some flooding, these were from yesterday.
This is how Edna Street is supposed to look, if you click on the picture to see it larger you’ll note in the smaller picture where Swan Creek is in relation to the home that’s experiencing the worst flooding.
This area is listed as part of the flood plain area according to information on the Lucas County Engineer’s floodplain map both as the 100 year flood plain and the floodway. The Swan Creek flooding issue has been one that has been the subject of several studies.
Lisa – I own a house on Edna Street and, thankfully, it has never flooded. Not even in the early 70s when the water was almost up to Western Ave. But because of the creek and the lack of maintenance and attention that it needs I am paying over $600 a year in flood insurance on a $45,000 house. The house in the pictures is at the very dead end of Edna and has been flooded more times than I can count.
Several years ago when there were numerous homes being constantly flooded with every heavy rain, the government came in and bought up those houses and turned the lots into green space. The reason? The payouts on insurance and the constant drain on local resources was becoming absurd. The homeowners were paid market value to surrender their homes. This was a plausible solution.
This home on Edna is owned by a man who absolutely refuses to relocate. That’s his right, I guess. But if it were me I would be concerned for my family’s health. I can’t help but think that that house is full of mold and other unhealthy spores.
And, for the record, if you look at the flood maps for that area …. that entire street is right smack dab in the middle of the flood plain. There is no ‘maybe’ about it.
February 13th, 2009 at 12:43 pmCarol, the street is definitely in the 100 year flood plain and that particular house is also in the floodway, I agree.
February 13th, 2009 at 12:46 pmWow, looks like a lake.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:31 pmIt’s called the Black Swamp and we must not mess with Mother Nature, perhaps we all need to understand the consequences for living in a swamp and learn to adapt. No matter how hard we try or how much money we spend in NW Ohio to stay dry but the Black Swamp will always win.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:37 pmRockets Man wrote:
Rockets – I agree about messing with Mother Nature, but the house I own was built in 1887, long before I ever knew it existed.
There was a promise some years back to have the Army Corps of Engineers come to Swan Creek and clean out the debris and trash that has collected in the bottom of the creek causing the water to dam and not flow properly. Unfortunately that has never come to fruition.
I am not naive enough to think that that would stop the creek from ever flooding, but I am optimistic that it would help alleviate SOME of the problem.
But, alas, the funds for that particular project are but a distant dream at this point.
February 13th, 2009 at 9:04 pm