KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 2022 floods in the Fort Sanders neighborhood of Knoxville left several parking lots flooded and cars totaled. That flood was caused by a blockage in a pipe owned by a private company, city engineers said. But it highlights the importance of maintaining stormwater infrastructure, they said.
In 2019, heavy rains caused flooding in the Northshore Hills neighborhood of West Knox County, on Cherry Street in East Knoxville and in Chilhowee Park.
Knoxville and Knox County are working on a joint project to expand the drainage tunnels near Northshore Hills because the current pipes are too small and dilapidated, engineers said.
"They're going to add a pump station, which will better help control the lake levels," said Randall Whitehead, a stormwater engineer with Knoxville.
In East Knoxville, Whitehead said the city is upgrading the old pipes covering Cherry Street and studying drainage in Chilhowee Park.
Those are two of the seven flood-prone areas where Knoxville leaders are trying to upgrade stormwater infrastructure.
Mayor Indya Kincannon's latest budget said that, in Knoxville, stormwater infrastructure issues have piled up over multiple administrations. It would cost the city $780 million to fix them, the mayor's budget said.
The total operating budget for the city is $461 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Knoxville is in the middle of a $2.2 million project to study all 400 miles of pipes in the city's stormwater system. Mayor Kincannon said the project will allow the city to understand the condition of its entire system and save money in the long run.