ENGLEWOOD — The city of Englewood is considering infrastructure improvements, both short-term and long-term, after significant flooding this summer.
In late July, heavy rains led to flooding that filled several basements on South Acoma Street, including the home where a woman got trapped in a basement apartment and drowned.
The city of Englewood said the water exceeded the infrastructure’s capacity that day.
“I think if we look back to storm on 24th of July, as devastating as it was, there was a number of factors that I think that [led to] the ferociousness of that storm,” said City Manager Eric Keck, Monday night.
“Number one was we had the hail that brought down leaves that clogged up drains that washed trash and other debris. That’s the number one thing we want to impress on our residents too is, be proactive themselves in helping us make sure that there isn’t debris and garbage that’s going to clog up the alleys and exacerbate flooding that might occur.”
Several weeks later, city officials said they have heard a lot of feedback from residents.
Keck said the city is working with an engineering firm to study ideas for long-term fixes to Englewood’s drainage system. In the short-term, Keck said the city is focusing on keeping the current system clean and working.
“It’s really a two-pronged approach, we’re trying to be proactive with our infrastructure by ensuring that it's cleaned, the pipes are cleaned, and that it's working effectively. But we need the public to help as well.”
Monday night, city leaders had a study session to discuss capital improvement planning for the city, or long-term planning. Specific infrastructure improvements for the area that flooded in July were not included in that planning, because Keck said the city is still working to create a plan to fix issues. However, city leaders discussed flooding issues and the need to address them several times throughout the meeting.
Keck said a study focusing on storm drainage and flood mitigation if approved by city council, should take about six months.
“That information would be brought back to city council and the public to see what general appetite would be for different options,” he said. “Whether that would be piping, whether that would be some form of detention, or keeping water and releasing it more slowly and releasing it into existing systems that we have and those are the things we're looking at right now provide more information about the city’s options.”
