The rain gardens are still going strong, and they do seem to keep water away from basements during normal rainstorms.  Unfortunately they didn’t help when the river overflowed in the big storm – they aren’t big enough to handle that much water!  Homes and streets were flooded, damages were severe, and mold is now a health problem.

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Points: 1

The wetland is well-established and healthy.  When the storm hit, the wetland worked!  Water spread out across the floodplain upstream instead of surging into Foggy Hollow.  Foggy Hollow River still overflowed and flooded streets and basements, but the flood levels (and the damages) were lower than predicted.   

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Points: 2

The levee was overtopped by the floodwaters and damaged, although it did not fail catastrophically.  It’s already very expensive for the town to maintain, and now it will require significant repair.  The residents are eager for the repair to take place – this time they want it to be taller!  Upstream and downstream the flood damage was unprecedented – it is clear that the Foggy Hollow levee has increased flooding in other areas of town.  The town is now considering building a downstream levee also.

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Points: 0

More than half of the houses closest to the river were removed as a result of the buy-out, and the rest were completely destroyed by the storm and the resulting flood.  None of the homeowners are planning to rebuild – the strip closest to the river will now be an open green space.  The town plans to repair and expand the existing park, which has become an extremely popular recreational space. People were grumpy about the high cost of the buy-out fifteen years ago when the program started, but now most agree that managed retreat was a good idea. 

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Points: 3

The wetland project worked!  Water spread out across the floodplain upstream instead of surging into Foggy Hollow.  Foggy Hollow River still overflowed and flooded streets and basements, but the flood levels (and the damages) were lower than predicted. The rain gardens didn’t help with the floodwaters from the river- they aren’t built for floods of that magnitude – but they have made Foggy Hollow a healthier place to live by solving some of the drainage problems from regular rainstorms, and they may have helped the floodwaters drain more quickly after the big storm.

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Points: 3

The levee held!  When the river started to rise, water spread out across the floodplain upstream instead of surging into Foggy Hollow.  This kept the river levels low enough for the levee to handle – the wetland/floodplain project has definitely helped extend the life of the levee.  It has probably also helped reduce downstream flood damage.  The levee was damaged in the storm and has significant erosion issues – this will be a very expensive repair.  Residents are very focused on the levee and want it to be taller this time.

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Points: 3

The levee was overtopped by the floodwaters and damaged, although it did not fail catastrophically. It’s already very expensive for the town to maintain, and now it will require significant repair. The residents are eager for the repair to take place – this time they want it to be taller! Upstream and downstream the flood damage was unprecedented – it is clear that the Foggy Hollow levee has increased flooding in other areas of town. The town is now considering building a downstream levee also. The green landscaping has been great for improving drainage during normal storms, but these features are too small to cope with the flooding river.

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Points: 1