When Hurricane Ida hit three years ago, the Brandywine watershed saw its worse flooding in 200 years. Chadds Ford floodwaters in the Brandywine Creek reached 20 feet.
The floods displaced hundreds of residents, leaving behind $6 million in damage to the Brandywine River Museum and shutting down a local favorite, Hank’s Place, now rebuilt.
A study now shows what caused the high flood waters in Chadds Ford and how communities in the Brandywine floodplain, an estimated 5,000 residents, can prepare for the next storm, writes Zoe Read for WHYY.
The Brandywine Conservancy, the University of Delaware Water Resources Center and the Chester County Water Resources Authority released the draft study this week.
The study’s recommendations call for infrastructure improvements that include repairing or removing dams, upgrading storm water infrastructure and elevating homes along the Brandywine.
The study’s authors determined 60 percent of dams, culverts and bridges along the Brandywine are undersized or damaged.
“We’re not going to solve flooding,” said Seung Ah Byun, executive director for the Chester County Water Resources Authority. “It’s going to happen, and it’s a matter of being prepared and making sure people are out of harm’s way as much as we can.”
See what other recommendations are in the study at WHYY.
