OAK GROVE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Nearly two weeks after torrential downpours and storms flooded areas in Christian County, some residents are still dealing with the aftermath as flood and septic water lingers on roads and inside houses. During the April 15 Oak Grove City Council meeting, officials heard from the public and weighed options to prevent flooding in future, including demolishing affected houses and declaring the area uninhabitable.
Seats were packed during the meeting as residents waited on updates about continuous flooding. Lawrence Novakowski, who owns property in an affected neighborhood in Oak Grove, spoke on behalf of people living around Lillian Drive.
“This didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Novakowski to the council. “The city had years, decades, to take action, and it didn’t. That failure has endangered homes, lives, and the entire community. Let me be clear, if this kind of deliberate negligence had happened anywhere else, it would be called what it is—criminal.”
The two properties that Novakowski rents out experienced extreme flooding, with water rising five feet inside on the first day. He has since helped the renters move out their items, with water reaching the second floor. During public comments, he continued to site a 2002 report done after the 1997 flood by the Kentucky Division of Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which warned that Derby Park and Lillian Drive sat on an unstable landscape riddled with sinkholes and inadequate drainage.
“The area within and surrounding the city of Oak Grove, Kentucky has had a long history of flooding which was most dramatically illustrated during March of 1997 when abnormal amounts of rainfall resulted in the significant flooding of several area houses,” said the report from 2002. “Unless a solution to the problem is addressed, sinkhole and depression flooding will continue to cause problems for residents of Oak Grove and will frustrate and impede developers as housing needs in this community increases.”
Shadow Ridge neighborhood
“We’re going on week two of not being able to leave homes,” said Oak Grove resident Cindy Schoolcraft on April 13. “Streets behind us have it worse with water levels at least doubling. If you don’t have a canoe or aren’t able to walk out of the neighborhood you are stuck.”
Schoolcraft, who is currently in her third trimester of pregnancy, is at a loss of what to do until the water recedes in the Shadow Ridge neighborhood off of Stateline Road. She told Christian County Now that she has contacted the City of Oak Grove trying to get a fix, but nothing has been done so far. One resident has even spent their own money to rent a device to drain the water themselves.
She confirmed that water has gone down a couple of inches on Timothy Avenue since Sunday thanks to the drainer, but the resident has since returned the device. Other residents are paying out of pocket to have their vehicles towed so they do not risk damage. This is the second time this year that this neighborhood has been impacted by flooding.
Right now, Schoolcraft’s main concern is emergency services being able to access her home, along with her inability to attend doctors’ appointments related to her pregnancy and her son’s therapy.
| RELATED STORY: Flood overtakes Oak Grove neighborhoods, high water still surrounds homes
Solutions from city
“I don’t even want to pretend like I know how you feel,” said Mayor Jackie Oliver during the city council meeting, as they got into discussions about flooding. Council members discussed a breakdown of communication that occurred when a State of Emergency was declared as no clear roles were outlined when it came to emergency response, and no solid flood disaster plan in place for the city.
In order to prevent the same areas being affected by flooding over and over again, they unanimously agreed that a buyback through FEMA would be their best option for Derby Park and Lillian Drive neighborhoods. According to the FEMA website, the community would utilize FEMA funding to buy the property from homeowners and demolish all structures.
“I think we need to make that a green space and just be done with it,” said Mayor Oliver who explained it would be an expensive, long process, but feels it is their best option. This plan is entirely contingent on FEMA’s assessment of damages, which can be helped along by the 2002 disaster report, and by homeowners submitting pictures and details of damage.
After hearing lengthy discussions that occurred during the meeting, Novakowski told Christian County Now, “I still believe the mayor has failed to effectively communicate with the community and take real leadership on this issue. However, I now have more faith in a few council members who seem genuinely committed to representing the residents of Derby Park and Lillian Drive.”
Septic water, pumping begins
Public Works Director Brian Ahart said they are starting the process of pumping water out of the Man O War area, installing a mile long pipe to move the water uphill into an empty field. He clarified that finding a pump large enough to handle the capacity delayed the process, but they are ready to move forward.
As water starts to recede, they warned the public about the dangers of entering floodwaters, which is now mixed with large amounts of septic water, according to the council. People are encouraged make an appointment to get a tetanus shot at the Christian County Health Department if they have been exposed to tainted water, and to wear appropriate protective gear and masks when cleanup efforts begin. Shots may be covered by insurance, or the pricing will be on a sliding scale for those who are uninsured.
Council member John Campbell praised the work that has gone on behind the scenes and on the ground in Oak Grove in response to the flooding. He specifically called out the support from affected community members that went out of their way to help others, even when they were dealing with devastating damage. This coupled with ongoing relief efforts at the Oak Grove Community Center, support from public works, and aid from Fort Campbell soldiers as water levels rose helped establish unity in the community, according to Campbell.
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