Heavy Rains Once Again Flood Manchester Road in Rock Hill
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Torrential storms on Monday resulted in nearly three inches of rain, leading to the flooding of Deer Creek in Rock Hill. Consequently, Manchester Road and adjacent parking lots were submerged underwater. This region, which regularly experiences floods, expect more prevention efforts.
Tori Garza, an employee at Trainwreck Saloon, has grown accustomed to these floods. In the case of this recent deluge, their parking lot was inundated with water, but their building remained unscathed. This is a significant improvement from the flooding in 2022, which badly affected the business.
Rock Hill’s Preparedness for Flooding
Rock Hill’s City Manager, Garrett Schlett, explained that in response to the 2022 floods, the city began work on a stormwater master plan. “We’re near the end of that, we’ve submitted to MSD, so we’re hoping they pick up some of these projects”, he mentioned.
Schlett provided insights on a city hall presentation from the previous fall. The presentation outlined long-term and short-term strategies, including the extension or installation of stormwater sewers. However, these plans would demand significant resources.
Response from MSD and MoDOT
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) reports having just wrapped up a wastewater project at Deer Creek. While the project could manage backups and prevent creek pollution, it wouldn’t impact street flooding.
The area surrounding Manchester Road is a recognized flood plain. As an MSD spokesperson pointed out, “It is extremely costly and not effective to try to engineer away a flood plain.”
Aside from the MSD venture, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) recently completed significant work on Manchester Road involving the erection of a new bridge over Deer Creek. Unfortunately, this project focused on sidewalks and resurfacing, so it didn’t address flooding issues.
Efforts from Surrounding Areas
Further up Manchester Road, the City of Brentwood just concluded their Brentwood Bound initiative, encompassing flood mitigation. However, as the Mayor of Brentwood emphasized, the project was designed to serve Brentwood and wasn’t engineered to affect neighboring communities like Rock Hill.
With the recurrence of floods in the area, measures need to be put into place to mitigate its effects, especially on small businesses. While plans are underway, it’s evident that more comprehensive solutions need to be explored to tackle Rock Hill’s perennial flood woes.