FAIRFAX — Residents in the flood plain of Little Duck Creek might have to decide between selling their homes and see them torn down, or keeping them at the risk of future tragedies.

        Removing houses may be the best way to prevent future floods from threatening property and lives there, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager told village officials Friday.

Ecky Sunday (front) and Brent Boyer, both 17 and Mariemont High seniors, clean up mud Friday from a home on Simpson Avenue that was damaged in last week's flooding. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Flood-control measures such as improving the creek's channel or building flood walls may be impractical and too expensive, said Roger Setters, project manager with the Corps' Louisville district office.

        “The basic problem is that we have too many people living too close to the stream,” he said. “With the threat of loss of life, I would think relocation of the residents might be the best solution.”

        During last week's storm, a man and his grown daughter were killed in their house on Simpson Avenue. in Fairfax when a wall in their water-filled basement collapsed.

        Forecasters say waterlogged Tristate residents should brace for a wet weekend, with 2 to 4 inches of rain possible in some places by Sunday. Forecasts predict rain today with a high temperature of 80, and possible showers Sunday with a high of 82.

        Meanwhile, the U.S. Small Business Administration declared Hamilton and Butler counties disaster areas, qualifying them and their bordering counties for SBA low-interest loans. The declaration also makes the counties eligible for state emergency assistance funds.

        On Friday, Mr. Setters led a six-member team from the Corps that met with Fairfax officials, inspected Little Duck Creek and toured the village's flood-damaged area. The team will review data, damage reports and past studies of Little Duck Creek before recommending a solution.

        Mr. Setters said he could not predict when that would be, but “we want to fast-track this.”

        Little Duck Creek runs down a steep slope before reaching Fairfax, where it levels out. During a heavy rain, the creek's velocity and volume rise as it gushes through Fairfax, placing houses in low-lying areas in great danger, Mr. Setters said.

        “It's like looking down the barrel of a loaded gun,” he said.

        Some of the 75 houses in the creek's flood plain could be leveled, with a ball field or a park placed in the vacant space, Mr. Setters said.

        But it's a tough sell. The Corps discussed moving Fairfax residents out of the flood plain after a flood in 1990, but the community opposed it.

        State Rep. Michelle Schneider, R-Madeira, and a representative from the office of U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, attended the Corps' meeting in Fairfax. Rep. Schneider said the relocation option was “a good idea, but the people would have to agree to it.”

        Fairfax Mayor Ted Shannon said moving residents is a difficult issue.

        “Some of them want to stay,” he said.

        Barbara Stacy said she would be willing to move out of the house she has lived in on Whetsel Avenue for 30 years “if I got the right price.”

        Amy Crabtree and her mother, Esther, live next door to the house where Ronald Davenport, 48, and his 21-year-old daughter, Anna, died.

        The Crabtrees' house suffered severe flood damage. On Friday, members of the Mariemont High School football team lugged buckets of mud from their basement.

        Ms. Crabtree, 25, said she would be sad to leave the house she has lived in her whole life, but a government buyout might be for the best.

        “It would mean peace of mind for my mother,” she said. “She worries every time it rains. That's no way to live.”

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