March 2, 2007
Dear Coalition Friends:
The National Capital Planning Commission has produced a fascinating, eye-opening draft report on flooding on the National Mall and in the larger city of Washington. NCPC staffer Michelle Desiderio presented the findings to Commissioners at the February NCPC public meeting. She is preparing additional data and will present again to Commissioners in May.
Public comments are welcome and can be submitted to info@ncpc.gov . Please take a few moments to read the draft and study the maps showing flood-prone areas. The stated deadline for comment is tomorrow, March 3rd, but Michelle says she will continue to take comments beyond that date for inclusion in her May presentation.
Here's the link. Or, go to http://www.ncpc.gov and click on "What's New" and scroll down to "Draft Report on Flood and Stormwater in Washington, D.C."
Page 3 of the report provides a Flood Risk Overview that covers:
Sea level Rise: "a rise in the Potomac River of one foot, combined with a major storm surge, would make the Jefferson Memorial an island and flood the National Mall up to the Reflecting Pool."
Washington's Hidden Hydrology: "Washington has historically had at least three major streams -- the Tiber Creek, James Creek, and Slash Run...Washington's present-day hydrologic problems have their roots in the burial of the natural drainage system."
June 2006 Flooding: "The extensive flooding shut down operations at four key federal office buildings--IRS Headquarters, the Commerce Department, the Justice Department, and the National Archives." The report states that the General Services Administration (GSA) retained an independent, private consultant to ascertain the causes of the flooding but that "the GSA consultant was unable to determine conclusively why the Federal Triangle area flooded so badly and so quickly."
We are grateful to former NCPC Commissioner and Vice Chair Patricia Elwood for insisting that NCPC study the flooding problem and take this issue seriously in considering planning questions.
The recently approved sites on the Mall for the Vietnam Visitor Center and African American Museum are both in flood areas. Vietnam veteran Ray Saikus, whose letter to NCPC we copy below, notes the need for further consideration of the Visitor Center site.
See the Coalition's own graphic that illustrates the problem by going to http://www.nationalmall.net and clicking on "What does the Mall need?" "A flood analysis." For this image we superimposed a satellite view today over the 1793 Andrew Ellicott map showing the original banks of Potomac and the location of Tiber Creek.
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The following is the letter concerning the site for the Vietnam Visitor Center:
Dear Michelle:
I was able to review the report and it is lacking a very critical element in its analysis, the proposed Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center (VVMVC). This is a proposed underground facility (depth of 30 feet) and lies within the area marked VI in the report diagram titled "1990 ACOE Map Showing areas of Residual Flooding" on page 11 of the NCPC report posted here
We request that the study include that VVMVC element and the impact of flooding on this proposed facility as well as any proposed facility and that the report be re-issued with a new deadline for comments and a hearing scheduled thereafter specifically oriented to this critical element of any planning. The updated study with the VVMVC analysis should include a thorough review by all emergency management and response agencies, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the National Park Service.
I testified in August 2006 regarding the threat of flooding and the unsafe design of the VVMVC. The testimony of the USACE in September 2006 confirmed the concerns I raised in my testimony.
Based on the current knowledge it would be irresponsible to allow the VVMC to proceed and to limit the scope of review of flooding in our nation' capital.
Please immediately distribute this communication to all your commission members and other parties that have participated in the review or have been contacted for comment.
Respectfully
Rimantas Ray Saikus
Vietnam Veteran 1968-69
Equal Honor For All
P.O. Box 32700
Cleveland, Ohio 44132-0700
Tel. (216) 514-7001
E-mail: rrs@equalhonor.org
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