at 2:14 PM by Mallory Schnell

$100 Million Nashville Flood Protection Plan

On Wednesday, Mayor Karl Dean of Nashville unveiled a $100 million flood protection plan for the downtown area. After the devastating flood of May 2010 that dropped 14 inches of rain in Nashville, Dean views the protection plan as an “insurance policy”; he believes the cost to implement the plan is smaller than the cost of the river swelling over and flowing into downtown once again.

An addition of this flood protection plan will be a $13 million, 2,100-foot- long flood wall that will run along West Riverfront Park. This will include 1,200 feet of removable flood wall, which will run along First Avenue. According to The Tennessean, “the permanent flood wall near the new park — site of a future music amphitheater — will look like and function as a walkable promenade that will offer views of the river.”

The most expensive part of the new plan will be a storm water pumping station at Riverfront Park. Coming in at $65 million, this station will pump water from the downtown area over the flood wall and back into the Cumberland River.

Construction is to begin by the end of summer and last anywhere from 30-36 months. Along with the new additions to the city, the plan calls for the gate closures of several tunnels that flow into the Cumberland. By blocking these tunnels before emergencies, the Cumberland River is less likely to flood and flow into the downtown area.

More information on Nashville’s flood protection plan can be found on The Tennessean’s website. In closing, Mayor Karl Dean states the importance of protecting the new additions (Music City Center, Omni Hotel, etc.) of downtown Nashville from a devastating flood such as the one that occurred nearly five years ago:

“The risk to all of these places are higher than many people think,” Dean said. “I look at this downtown flood protection system as an insurance policy. We’re going to pay a premium so we can reduce our risk for catastrophic flooding in the heart of our city.”