WHITE HOUSE, Tenn. (WKRN) — White House High School was closed Friday after the gym flooded in Thursday’s storm.
With more rain on the horizon for much of Middle Tennessee, White House mayor John Corbitt has braced for rising waters. Resident and owner of White House Lawn and Landscape Cody Telford said there have been public outcries for better infrastructure for years. He hopes change is coming soon.
“[We] brought this to the attention of our mayor or brought this to the attention of city officials,” Telford said. “We have done that time and time and time again, and it seems like there is just a Band-aid put on it. There is not a permanent fix.”
“It rained yesterday for probably a total of an hour and a half, and if we experience that much flooding in an hour and a half from that rain, imagine what a solid day of rain would do,” Telford said. “It would cause sheer devastation in our community.”
Video from residents showed flooded streets water rising into garages. Some community members said the flooding is due to failing roadway drainage systems and infrastructure.
“We have Calista Road — the culvert completely washed out from underneath the culvert so that water issues are completely taking over that neighborhood,” Telford said.
Corbitt has blamed increased development and their lack of proper drainage for the flooding. As a result, he has ordered a halt on all construction until every property can be inspected for proper flood mitigation standards.
“We have issued a stop work order on all construction activities in the city of White House effective [Friday],” Corbitt said. “We are going go out and assess all of them, and the ones that are in compliance will be back open and running.”
Corbitt told News 2 they want to ensure the pond size meets standards and the dirt is stabilized. He also said people were out Friday to ensure drainage systems were cleared out ahead of this weekend’s forecasted rain.
“I was an alderman for six years and I fought a lot of this development, and this is what happens when it happens as quickly as it is happening,” Corbitt said.
The mayor offered a warning to other developing cities as well.
“I would caution other cities in Middle Tennessee that are starting to experience some of the same growth to be careful,” Corbitt explained. “When you are looking at rezoning property or annexing it into the city — if you’ve got infrastructure issues, it’s okay to say no.”
Telford has called for more action and funding.
“A lot of people aren’t going to continue living somewhere where there’s nobody making stands and changes for their benefit,” Telford said. “We pay our property taxes. We pay our dues. We do what we need to do. We should be taken care of by our city government.”
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