Guest Column: Morgan Creek resident on Chantal aftermath

GUEST COLUMNS

By Peter Burke

The Carrboro communities along Morgan Creek are now dealing with the aftermath of July 6 flooding, deciding whether to sell as-is, rebuild & stay, or rebuild and sell or rent; or waiting for insurance and grants and loans to come through, not to mention keeping temporary housing manageable.

Right now, we do not know with enough detail yet what the Town of Carrboro, Orange County Emergency Management (OCEM), and OWASA did the chaotic night of July 6. Nor do we know what decisions those authorities will ultimately make about how to give adequate warning to flood-prone communities like mine and Canterbury Townhouses.

We do know some things.

The National Weather Service issued an accurate forecast for 6-9 inches of rain at 6 p.m. on July 6. Though that range of rain sooner or later would have caused serious flooding along Morgan Creek, there was not even an “expect flooding” warning to affected neighborhoods.

OCEM has put out many “Flash Flooding In Your Area” messages via OC Alerts (to which people have to sign up) over the years. Those alerts do not specify which area, My wife and I only remember one such message that night—when we were huddling in our attic crawl space waiting for a rescue while watching water bubble up to 18 inches in our garage.

University Lake looms over the valley of Morgan Creek, which flows through the lake. OWASA is responsible for its dam safety, not the effect of Lake overspill. Though it shared recorded rising Lake levels to other authorities, it issued no evacuation order because the Lake peaked at 30 inches below its Red warning criterion.

The NC FIMAN flood sensor at Smith Level Road didn’t work, nor has it worked for a while, blinding us to the developing flooding.

OCEM, the Town of Carrboro, and OWASA have had an After Action Review and are considering alternatives to improve warning for Morgan Creek communities.

Local Personal Weather stations can be tapped for live ongoing rainfall amounts/rates.

The Town of Carrboro did a marvelous job of rescuing people flooded out that night and into the morning.

Nevertheless, we don’t know the answer to what’s next, particularly how we will be better warned when the next extra-heavy rain comes (and it will). I have some ideas, in order of feasibility.

The absolute easiest would be for affected communities to put in place an internal warning system (e.g., a “text tree”)—if it is connected to OCEM refining its OC Alerts system to target specific neighborhoods, or key people within a neighborhood (HOA board members or volunteers).

Next, on the night of 7/6, I would have used the Smith Level Road flood sensor to warn my neighbors as I have done in the past. The Town of Carrboro should work on/with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to install a Smith Level Road sensor that will work permanently. That would help Morgan Creek communities greatly.

The next priority is the OWASA Board refining its Lake Level criteria to include overspill amounts likely to flood houses in Morgan Creek neighborhoods. I’m already aware of two bits of data that could correlate with Lake levels.

Implementing the above—authorities and communities together—would go a long way to improving warning for the seemingly inevitable storm producing roughly ten inches of rain again. For those of us with many “what next” questions now, improving flood warning in the above ways would make us feel much better.

Peter Burke (locavorejazz@gmail.com) has lived on and off in Carrboro for fifty-four years.