On May 20, a storm cell hit Atlanta, causing catastrophic flooding and extreme traffic congestion. With inches of water covering much of the Downtown Connector, commuters became stranded, and local waterways were filled with polluted runoff that killed an unprecedented number of fish.
With many climate experts warning that flash flooding will only continue to worsen across the state, residents have two questions: How did it happen, and how can it be addressed in the future?
At the time of the floods, Georgia was experiencing a nine-month-long drought, with very little heavy rainfall. As a result of the dry spell, debris was accumulating along drains that would normally take the water away.
It also made permeable surfaces like dirt drier and more compact. That means that when a sustained storm cell finally developed, both the drier, more compact land and the debris led to rapid rainwater accumulation.
Researchers Kat So, Lucero Marquez, and Kalina Gibson at the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research institute, recently studied worsening flooding across the country. In their research, they found that “as the Earth warms up due to fossil-fueled climate change, flooding becomes increasingly destructive. A warmer world means increased evaporation, which supercharges storms to produce more rain, resulting in higher chances of flooding.”
So what can be done locally?
Proposed Solution: A Stormwater Utility
With 63 percent of Atlantans concerned about climate change and federal action stalled, state and local governments must step up to address its growing impacts. In Yale’s recent Climate Opinion Map, the Atlanta Metro area showed that 57 percent of Atlanta residents believe local officials should be doing more.
While it is impossible to solve this problem in Atlanta at the city level alone, one solution that checks many boxes is a stormwater utility.
According to Joshua Smith, who worked with the Land Use Clinic at the University of Georgia, “a stormwater utility is a distinct fiscal entity, funded by a stormwater fee paid by all customers serviced, and established by local governments to provide a consistent source of money to manage their stormwater needs.”
In an interview with Alfred Tucker, a resident of Hunter Hills since 1942 and current co-chair of the Stop Flooding Us Coalition, an ideal stormwater utility fee might resemble a carbon tax. Like some carbon taxes, properties that contribute more to flooding must pay a higher tax than those that contribute less.
The idea behind this funding structure is to redistribute revenue to neighborhoods most impacted by flash floods and to build more sustainable infrastructure that absorbs runoff, as well as other water infrastructure improvement projects.
If Atlanta were to establish a stormwater utility, it would not be the first city in Georgia to do so.
A total of 75 cities across the state already have a functioning stormwater utility, including Savannah, which approved the creation of a stormwater utility in January. Additionally, many local governments in the meteor area, including Cobb County and the City of Decatur, also have a stormwater utility fee. Nationwide, there are over 2,100 stormwater utilities, indicating widespread acceptance.
These benefits beg the question: Why doesn’t Atlanta have a stormwater utility?
The answer is there was one. Bill Eisenhauer, an engineer and Atlanta community organizer, emphasized that Atlanta previously established a stormwater utility under Mayor Bill Campbell’s administration. However, the utility failed because the administration redirected the collected funds to the city’s general fund rather than keeping them strictly for stormwater management.
“They [the city] put money into the general fund instead of into a stormwater utility, and they got sued by somebody,” said Eisenhauer. “Since then, everybody’s been nervous about… putting together another stormwater utility.”
City leadership remains nervous about establishing a new utility due to the failure of the first in 1999, he said. However, some city leaders recognize the need for a stormwater utility and support one.
At the Westside Future Fund’s Transform Westside Summit last Friday, Councilmember Byron Amos said he would support establishing a stormwater utility if the proper legal avenues were taken.
Ultimately, the issue of flooding is not driven by climate change alone. Government actions, such as the failure to establish a stormwater utility, and poor infrastructure management, such as the clogged drains in May, also drive flooding. The decision to rework the stormwater utility and modernize Atlanta’s water system will cost millions of dollars, but experts argue it is one that must be made.
As Eisenhauer said: “water runs downhill, and if you don’t deal with it ‘til you’re at the bottom of the hill, you’re gonna drown.”
