Flood study flags culverts and homes at risk in East Fork/12-Mile Creek tributaries

A consultant presented a preliminary flood study for the East Fork/12-Mile Creek tributaries, telling the Wesley Chapel Village Council that modeling of 25- and 100-year storms shows multiple culverts and neighborhood crossings at risk and a number of residences in harm27s way.

"The 25-year storm showed that there are already 11 homes in that area that are at risk of flooding," the presenter said, and an extension of FEMA modeling identified about 10 homes at risk in Melrose Place under a 100-year scenario. The study found that culverts at key crossings, including Wesley Chapel Road and Woodhurst Drive, fail in those events and can cut off access to homes.

Consultants told the council that a full set of replacements at five crossings to maintain access during a 100-year event would require large-diameter pipe upgrades (66- to 72-inch in many spots) and that a preliminary, ballpark cost to replace the five locations was about $1.252D$1.5 million. A lower-cost alternative that focused on maintaining access for a 25-year storm would involve fewer crossings and substantially less work; individual culvert upgrades cited included $130,0002D$160,000 for a Bronte Lane upgrade.

Planning staff and the consultant stressed that phase 1 of the project was data collection and screening: the $30,000 study pooled lidar, culvert inventories, FEMA and USGS data and limited ground geometry work. The goal was to identify where further study and targeted design would be needed, not to produce final engineered plans.

Council members pressed on next steps and funding. The planning director said the study is small and inexpensive compared with the likely construction costs and that some fixes would require NCDOT involvement because the failing crossings are on state-maintained roads. The presenter and staff suggested potential funding paths, including planning or capacity grants to support preliminary engineering, and said staff expects to present the study to Union County later in the year.

The council did not vote to authorize construction; members asked staff to pursue grant opportunities, to notify NCDOT where state rights-of-way are implicated and to return with options and cost estimates for near-term actions that could maintain access during more frequent, smaller storms.