Homewood City Council members heard recommendations for stormwater flooding issues in parts of the city at the Dec. 10 public works committee meeting.
Walter Schoel Engineering was hired in August to study the areas around Bonita Drive and Roxbury and Huntington roads, where residents have brought complaints of yard and street flooding during heavy storms.
William Thomas from Walter Schoel presented the public works committee with the results of a site visit, conversations with residents and models of the existing water flow and drainage infrastructure.
In the case of Bonita Drive, Thomas said the flooding, especially near the cul-de-sac and the home at 214 Bonita Drive, is worsened by an undersized pipe at that end of the street, some surrounding slopes that funnel the water down and debris obstructing the other end of the pipe, which empties near U.S. 280.
The topography of the area means that much of the stormwater that lands between U.S. 280 and Hollywood Drive gets funneled toward Bonita.
Thomas' recommendations were to clear the debris obstructing the pipe and smooth the transition between the small pipe and the larger box culvert it feeds into, as the swirling water pattern created at the transition causes part of the backup.
He also recommended creating an auxiliary water channel near 214 Bonita Drive and adding curb inlets, which would help redirect some of the water when flooding causes it to back up near the pipe entrance.
“With these four improvements, we think that we can really reduce the frequency and magnitude of flooding observed in that area,” Thomas said.
Greg Cobb, of the city's Department of Building, Engineering and Zoning, said the end of the pipe with the obstruction is in Birmingham's city limits, and he has reached out to the city about getting the debris cleared.
Near Roxbury and Huntington, Thomas said water runoff from U.S. 31 and nearby businesses, apartments and homes is flowing toward these streets. He showed the committee pictures taken by Lancaster Road residents of their backyards after such a flooding event.
Similar to Bonita, Thomas said this area also has a small stormwater pipe that transitions to a box culvert, but its impact is amplified because of its location near a low point in Huntington Road where the water can collect.
Thomas' suggestion was to replace this segment of pipe with a box culvert and add more curb inlets to ease the pressure.
Cobb and committee members noted that stormwater pipe work is often expensive. Cobb said he will get price estimates on the work Thomas suggested before the city decides how to proceed. The committee decided to carry over the discussion to its next committee meeting.
Walter Schoel has been commissioned with a similar study of flooding issues on Mecca Avenue and will return to the committee with a report when the study of that road is complete.
