ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 22, 1996 TAG: 9611220038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: HARRISONBURG
SOURCE: Associated Press
LEAVE THE CREEK where nature put it, residents say. But officials have a different plan to prevent flooding.
The residents of Rocky Run, a small settlement off U.S. 33 in Rockingham County, have left no stone unturned as they search for help in digging out from rocks left by Hurricane Fran flooding.
But 2 1/2 months after whitecaps lapped at their homes and boulders blanketed their yards, they're upset by plans to supposedly fix the problem, the time it's taken and the gloomy portents for the next time Mother Nature gets cranky.
Several homeowners think there will be less destruction in the future if Rocky Run is left where Fran's flooding moved it, branching away from the old channel.
Officials are just as convinced the creek should be put back in its pre-flood direction, the channel cleaned out and a protective structure built to withstand future floods.
Both groups will be clutching all the lucky charms they can find.
The Sept. 6 flooding filled homes, shoved aside trucks and small buildings, and sent boulders rolling out of the George Washington National Forest ``like bowling balls,'' said resident Willie Wilkinson.
High water receded almost as quickly as it rose. But tons of boulders remained. The only flat spaces are paths that homeowners have scraped out with tractors.
The residents have been told they're responsible for removing the rocks - and for finding a place to put them. They also will have to rebuild the private road that goes through the community.
The stream channel will be rerouted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
``Our commitment is to the channel work itself. The road will be put back after the stream is diverted,'' said Rockingham County Administrator William O'Brien.
But the residents don't like the plan to rebuild the road at a lower level so it can act as a spillway in case of another overflow.
``We're disgusted, totally disgusted,'' said resident Susan Bennett.
Water and rock are ``going to come back down again,'' she said. ``Some people seem to think if you keep [Rocky Run] cleaned out, it won't happen. But I feel sure it will.''
Bennett and others wanted the county to buy two flooded homes - at an estimated cost of $80,000 - and condemn them. That would allow the stream to stay where it is.
However, at a Sept. 12 meeting with homeowners, county officials said they couldn't afford to spend that much money.
``Hey, they're going to spend that much the next two times it happens,'' Bennett said. ``And I'm real curious to see when that will be.''
O'Brien is hoping for the best.
``The fact of the matter is, if we ever get another storm event like 1996, those people are going to be subject to the same conditions they had this time,'' he said.
``I guess the only thing you can do is say these were 100-or 200-or 300-year storm events, and let's hope they don't happen again for that period of time. But eventually, it's going to happen.''
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB