Buy-Outs, Relocations Part Of Proposed Sweetwater Flood Risk Plan

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, released a tentatively selected flood risk management plan for the Sweetwater Creek Watershed in Georgia for public and agency review, April 6. The Tentatively Selected Plan, or TSP, calls for a buy-out relocation of high-risk structures in the watershed.

According to Mobile District Project Manager Dean Trawick, other alternatives that the Corps of Engineers considered were cost-prohibitive.

"For Sweetwater Creek, we looked at a myriad of structural and nonstructural alternatives, but the construction and real estate costs of those alternatives far exceeded the value of reoccurring damages and the cost to buy-out the high-risk structures in the watershed," Trawick explained.

"The economic feasibility of a qualifying solution depends on whether the annualized construction costs for a recommended project are less than the estimated annual average damage caused by future flood-related events."In addition to economic impacts, the Corps of Engineers has also reviewed potential impacts to the environment under the study.

According to Heather Bulger, a biologist with the district, no significant adverse environmental impacts have been identified yet, but that is subject to change following external review.

"No significant adverse environmental impacts have been identified in the evaluation of the TSP," said Bulger.

"However, federal and state agency coordination, as well as coordination with federally recognized tribes, is ongoing."The deadline to submit public comments on the TSP is May 6. Comments can be submitted by registered mail, email, or in person at one of two public meetings that the Corps of Engineers will host in the watershed. The comments from the public will be used, along with feedback from federal, state and local agencies, in the preparation of a final flood risk management plan for Sweetwater Creek.

The reduction of flood risk is a critical mission under the Corps of Engineers Civil Works authority. The Corps' Flood Risk Management Program mission is to reduce the overall flood risk and long-term economic damages to the public and private sector, and to improve the natural environment.

For more information on the study or to download the TSP visit the website.

Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers