The surge in stormwater Monday overwhelmed many spots in Fairfax County, Virginia, and it brought attention to a flooding problem that’s not all that uncommon.
“Monday put an exclamation point on the problem,” said Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust, “but it’s a recurring problem.”
He pointed to issues in McLean and Tysons, which are part of his Dranesville district, where many older neighborhoods were built before there were significant stormwater requirements.
Foust said an up-to-date stormwater management system is needed, even though it would involve a significant amount of work, disruption and money.
Neighborhood improvements would include the installation of curbs and underground pipe systems, and the raising of roads that are too low.
“It’s a major, major challenge,” Foust said, but one worth undertaking.
“That storm was bad,” he added, “but we got a lot of flooding just from what people might consider normal summer storms.”
