LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mother nature has made a mess along the Ohio River. In downtown Louisville, 4th Street and River Road were part of the river.
Deborah Bilitski, Waterfront Park’s executive director explained, “This flood that we just recently had was actually a few feet higher than the 2018 flood. So, I would say this is probably the largest event that I have witnessed here at Waterfront Park since I have been here. I joined the organization in 2018.”
Over at Waterfront Park, there are massive amounts of debris strewn about. There’s debris and driftwood almost as far as the eye can see. There are logs larger than cars.
“We have a boat on the TurfMutt Great Lawn, which is going to require some heavy equipment to remove and you can see just behind me there’s a large tree that is going to require large equipment to remove. So, having a contractor that has the ability to bring in crews and do a significant clean up event is really going to help us expedite this cleanup and get our city ready for the big events that are coming in the next few weeks,” Bilitski explained.
As part of an Action Plan, Friday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville announced the city has engaged national disaster response provider, AshBritt, to work alongside a few city agencies to finish disaster response as quickly as possible.
Bilitski said it’ll be a significant effort just to get the area near the Great Lawn cleaned up and cleared.
“We have this kind of debris that is blocking roadways. It is blocking emergency access routes. That’s on private properties as well. That is just going to require a significant amount of effort to clean up and remove. Getting some extra help to do that is really going to make the big difference to people, getting the roads open, making our parks and open spaces safe for the community to enjoy.”
Thomas Williams is one of the people who enjoys Waterfront Park. He said he thinks it’s awesome to have the help coming from AshBritt.
“Blessings upon their business and they be able to help with other endeavors that may happen around the Louisville Metro or even in Kentucky,” said Williams.
When asked how much he expects clean-up to cost, the mayor said that’s still to be determined. Mayor Greenberg said based on the flooding that they know of, the amount of debris and the time it takes, they expect the cleanup could cost approximately $5 million. According to Mayor Greenberg, FEMA is expected to reimburse 87% of that amount to the city.
