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10 Years Since the Flood: Nashville’s Resilient Response

Nashville 2010 Flood. Photo credit Stephen Yeargin.

2010 Nashville Flood. Photo credit to Stephen Yeargin. CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

Summary:

In May 2010, Nashville experienced severe flooding across the city. As Nashville recovered from the flood, the city aimed for policies and practices to ensure we can be more resilient to future flooding events. Roger Lindsey, the Floodplain Manager with Metro Water Services, will share how the city has responded in the ten years since the flood, including new low-impact development guidelines, stormwater infrastructure, and floodplain buy-outs. Roger will also discuss how flood mitigation work at our water treatment plants helps to protect key infrastructure from future flood events. This episode is especially relevant given the increasing flood risk posed by climate change.

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About Metro Water Services:

Metro Water Services is a department of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. They provide water, wastewater and stormwater services to over 250,000 residents. Roger Lindsey is the Floodplain Manager and is responsible for helping the city prepare for and respond to large precipitation events.

In this podcast:

  • What happened during the 2010 flood in Nashville? What was the aftermath like?
  • What is the floodplain buyout program? Why is it important?
  • What work is being done to make infrastructure, such as water treatment plants, more resilient to flooding?
  • What has Nashville done to become more resilient to flooding since 2010? How do new resilience policies and projects take into account the added flood risk brought about by climate change and population growth?
  • What is Low Impact Development (LID)?
  • How can individual Nashville residents contribute to flood resilience?
Learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode:

Picture of Catherine Price

Catherine Price

Catherine Price is the Division Manager for Education and Engagement at the Cumberland River Compact. In her role, Catherine leads her team members to work alongside communities in the Cumberland River basin to address water conservation and climate resilience issues through community engagement, education, and advocacy. Catherine has a BS in zoology from Miami University and an MS in zoology from the University of British Columbia. She also has a certificate in community impact from the Center for Nonprofit Management and is certified in environmental STEM education from Cornell University. Prior to her work at the Compact, Catherine led national citizen science mobilization efforts, coordinated public programming at a nonprofit aquarium, and conducted ecology research in South America. Catherine has called Nashville home since 2016 and enjoys exploring the city’s parks, libraries, and food scene with her young daughter and husband.