Ripple Effect
This is the final installment in a four-part series examining Shelby’s flood mitigation history, as well as another Ohio city’s actions to combat recurring flooding. These stories will run on consecutive days starting Jan. 29 and running through Feb. 1. Links to previous stories in this series are at the bottom of this piece.
SHELBY – Ray Yonkura represented the congressional help Shelby needed to eliminate a bridge contributing to downtown flooding since the 1950’s.
Near the end of February 2011, several inches of melted snow, followed by heavy rain and thunderstorms, brought significant flood waters to Shelby — again.
State Rep. Marilyn John, then Shelby’s mayor, recalled Yonkura, former chief of staff for Congressman Jim Jordan, visiting the city to offer assistance.
“We drove him around and he asked the question again, ‘What can we do to help?’” she said.
“So I drove him out to State Street and I said, ‘You can help us get the railroad to remove that bridge.’”
Bridge removal ‘took an act of Congress’
The bridge John referenced was a trestle bridge, placed over the Black Fork by the New York Central Railroad in 1952. The bridge allowed a spur line to provide access to the Wilkins Air Force Specialized Depot, now the site of the Central Ohio Industrial Park.
Due to its proximity to the waterway, John said the federal government conducted engineering studies on the bridge, which warned water levels over Main Street would increase by over two feet should it be installed.
“Meaning it’s going to increase the likelihood of flooding and at times, severe flooding,” she said. “They did it anyway.”
John said the bridge was one of the main contributors to flooding on Main Street and was something the city had been trying to have removed for more than 20 years.
With assistance and action from Yonkura and Jordan’s office, CSX Transportation removed the bridge on State Street during the summer of 2012, said Joe Gies, Shelby project coordinator.
“I always tell everyone it took an act of Congress to get that bridge taken out,” he said. “Dealing with railroads can be very difficult because they have a lot of power.”
Kaptur introduces Toledo officials to nature-based mitigation strategies
In the city of Toledo, officials looking for flooding solutions also benefited from having a “political champion.”
Patekka Pope Bannister, deputy director of Toledo’s department of public utilities, said the city began looking for solutions following a year of extreme flooding.
“We had a year where we had a lot of storms,” she said. “We just kept getting hit.”
Pope Bannister said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, a native Toledoan, introduced city officials to green infrastructure.
According to American Rivers, green infrastructure is an approach to water management that protects, restores, or mimics the natural water cycle.
Based on Kaptur’s work in Washington, D.C., Pope Bannister said the congresswoman saw green infrastructure work as a good tool for education outreach, as well as a helpful strategy to mitigate isolated flooding.
“She wanted to bring that here to our area,” she said. “So, she became our political champion.”
Voice of residents valued in Toledo project planning
No matter the mitigation method, progress begins with accountability and shared goals between city officials, community members and businesses.
Residents of Toledo and the surrounding area were invited to participate in a planning exercise around 2014, resulting in the creation of a regional sustainability plan.
“You really have to build trust with the community and give them realistic expectations of what these things actually are and what they do.”
Lorie haslinger, senior stormwater engineer
Lorie Haslinger, senior stormwater engineer in the division of engineering services, said community input was critical to the overall process.
“I think some of the flooding solutions actually need to come from the homeowners in the community themselves,” she said. “They need to buy into them.”
Toledo partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and additional Digital Cost partners to conduct a study on the Silver Creek Watershed, according to the NOAA.
Results of the study found that implementing green infrastructure approaches could save around $700,000 over a 20-year period, due to reduced damages to buildings.
Regina Collins, Toledo chief of water resources in the division of environmental services, said conversations with residents and government agencies were invaluable for getting projects started.
“It allowed us to collaborate with each other and other entities,” she said, “That’s the only way we were, in my opinion, able to tackle these issues.”
Since its inception, Toledo’s Green Infrastructure Task Force has been used as a model in the Great Lakes region by Duluth, Minnesota, according to the NOAA.
Mitigation progress fueled by patience, education and open dialogue
Combined with community input, education and collaboration, GI projects began to blossom throughout the city.
Practices such as rain gardens, land preservation, roadside bioswales, vernal pools, porous pavement and the planting of pollutant-filtering plants can be seen in place throughout the city today.
City of Toledo
However, Toledo’s path to putting mitigation in place took more than just a few public meetings. It required patience, education and open dialogue.
Progress begins with ‘trust’ and ‘realistic expectations’
Haslinger said trust, between residents and city officials, must be established in order for anything to be accomplished.
“You really have to build trust with the community and give them realistic expectations of what these things actually are and what they do,” she said.
“You’re not just an engineer coming to them and demanding that they do something. We’re working together. We’re trying to find a solution that works for you as a homeowner, on what you could do on your property.”
Creating educational, trust-building opportunities can be difficult due to several factors.
Pope Bannister said one example arose while trying to host an evening meeting in a neighborhood populated mostly by senior citizens.
Flexibility and knowing your audience are two takeaways she said she’s gained from the experience.
City of Toledo Stormwater Coordinator Edith Kippenhan said there’s always room for growth when it comes to communication, but as experience builds, the process becomes more effective.
“Communication is something I think that we all struggle with because we’re all overloaded and busy,” she said.
“But the channels are there and we’re trying to get better with every opportunity to reach out.”
Flooding is ‘really difficult to tackle’ says Toledo senior stormwater engineer
While Toledo continues to progress towards larger-scale GI infrastructure, officials acknowledge there’s no specific cure-all for flooding.
Certain areas respond better than others to mitigation practices and research must be gathered to locate the proper spot for a solution, Haslinger said.
“Flooding in general is really difficult to tackle,” she said. “It really is hard to find a solution for everything. As an engineer, you can only design for so big of a storm.”
But among the uncertainties that accompany recurrent flooding, leadership in Toledo provides a level of confidence to move forward with its efforts.
“We don’t always get everything we want. But we all can agree that we don’t want flooding in Shelby.”
— John Schroeder, Shelby-area farmer
Shelby flood prevention efforts ‘can’t stop’
Collaboration and open-mindedness between city officials and community members is critical for progress to be made, said Shelby-area farmer John Schroeder.
“In the end, that’s where we ended up,” he said. “That’s why people have seen an improvement, but we can’t stop.”
More than a decade of work, research and conversations have been completed since the Black Fork Subdistrict was reactivated.
All efforts have centered around answering the question raised by residents since 1913: How can we stop this from happening again?
“We don’t always get everything we want,” Schroeder said. “But we all can agree that we don’t want flooding in Shelby.”
A solution is something Shelby Mayor Steve Schag said he’d like to find sooner rather than later.
“I don’t want the conversation to go on for months and years,” he said.
“We need to put our heads together across the county and see what the next approach will be, see what is feasible, and that will be beneficial to everyone upstream and downstream.”
