Wednesday, July 21, 1999
More Banklick dams being considered
All options would take years
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
INDEPENDENCE — Kenton County officials Tuesday added two alternatives they will consider to prevent flooding along Banklick Creek.
Fort Wright engineer Jim Berling, whom the county hired to study the situation, said the county could build:
• A “dry dam,” which would close only when it rains.
• A series of up to 30 smaller dams along the creek.
Residents along the creek who spoke at Tuesday's Kenton County Fiscal Court caucus meeting say they're scared every time it rains. Christene Meadows, who lives near Ky. 17 in Independence, said she has nightmares of her pet cat drowning in floodwater.
“We have had eight floods in three years,” Ms. Meadows said. “In the end, we live in fear we'll drown in our sleep.”
Judge-executive Dick Murgatroyd has said the third option — building a single large dam along Banklick Creek — is likely too expensive, but residents in the flooded area have pressed for construction. Mr. Berling said in May it would cost between $22 million and $25 million.
Mr. Berling also said he would present a list of property owners affected by persistent flooding and a cost estimate of the other projects at the Aug. 17 fiscal court caucus meeting.
The creek is part of the Banklick Watershed, a 58.2-square-mile portion of Boone and Kenton counties. Al Carson, chairman of Neighbors Fighting for Flood Control, said more than 100 property owners are affected.
Any option the county chooses will take five to 10 years to complete, said Deputy Judge-executive Scott Kimmich and Willard Rusk, a retired engineer from Florence hired by the residents.
Mr. Berling said his list would also include property owners along the creek who would consider selling their land. He estimated the cost of property acquisition at between $3.8 million and $4 million, but Ms. Meadows said that's way too low.
“You better take that figure and go five times that,” she said. “The $22 million might be a bargain for one dam.”
The idea of building a dam along Banklick Creek is not new. Mr. Rusk said four proposals have been put together over the years, but none made it past blueprints.
The Banklick Creek property owners, who live mostly along Ky. 17, sued Kenton and Boone counties and 12 cities over the flooding. The residents claim the counties and cities allowed development without providing for proper storm-water retention and distribution.
A Kenton County judge dismissed the suit earlier this year, but the residents have appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
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