Will Richmond’s Never Tested Floodwall Work? News by Michael C. Hild - September 11, 2018September 11, 201823 I was checking out the Richmond Railway Museum in Manchester one day when one of the historians said: “you know, this whole area of Manchester, including this building, was submerged during Hurricane Agnes. That’s why they built the floodwall, but it’s never been battle tested since it was built.” Hurricane Florence may change that string of good luck. According to a story by Mark Holmberg about the floodwall back in 2015: “It’s 21 years old, cost $140-plus million and is still a virgin. It’s never had to close all of its gates and hold back the mighty James River in a major flood.” Apparently President Ronald Reagan signed off on the floodwall in 1986 directly after Hurricane Juan. Not only was the construction of the floodwall expensive, but it came at the cost of eliminating river access for most of Manchester and portions of downtown Richmond. The wall essentially works as a giant concrete barrier that is supposed to keep water out. But that huge, hulking wall of concrete cuts most of Manchester off from the River. In fact, when my wife and I walk the T-Pot bridge and see newcomers to the Manchester side, we are often asked by the newbies in swim trunks with coolers, chairs, and floaties in tow: “How the heck do we get to the river?” But if you look at the old pictures of Hurricane Camille, Agnes, & Juan you can understand why the floodwall was built. Those Hurricane induced floodwaters in Richmond and Manchester were nothing short of devastating. According to a recent article by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the floodwall was inspected recently to ensure operational capability: “The floodwall was last tested in June and inspected by the Army Corps of Engineers two weeks ago as part of an annual check, according to Bob Steidel, deputy chief administrative officer for operations in the city. The concrete barriers are activated in stages as the river water level rises. The James is already expected to rise above 6 feet on Tuesday after wet weather over the weekend, Steidel said. That leaves little room before it reaches levels, around 9 or 10 feet, when city officials will begin to close parts of the floodwall to provide protection for the city.” Let’s hope that the engineers who designed and built the floodwall, did so with a Florence-like Hurricane induced flooding event in mind. There is a strong chance we may need it if the meteriologists’ forecasts are accurate. Fingers crossed. Image Credit: Library of Virginia
In 2004, didn’t Gaston flood the Bottom, because the floodwall was closed, trapping the water in? Reply
At one point, Gaston produced such heavy rain in the Shockoe Creek watershed, that the flow in Shockoe Creek exceeded the flow in the James River!!! Reply
The floodwall is fine, It the water drainage pipes that no one has cleared which caused the last flooding that should be the concern. Reply
The flood wall will protect us from the James rising, water from the west. Not from rain fall within Richmond. Reply
What year was the flood wall constructed? I remember living through Agnes and Camille. Is the picture from one of those two? Reply
Honestly we’ll see if it works. Too early to make any comments on this. Hope all turns out well! Reply
