George Hawkins

After three bouts of flooding over the last two weeks, Bloomingdale residents yesterday expressed a mix of frustration and anger over how D.C. was responding to the situation. Spurred by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5), city agencies kicked into high-gear yesterday, distributing sandbags and promising further investigation into what was causing the flooding.

In a letter to residents, D.C. Water General Manager George Hawkins put the flooding into historical context and promised a number of short-term fixes, including cleaning catch basins and using CCTV cameras to search existing sewers for possible blockages.

He also explained that a $2.6 billion project to build a new tunnel under the Anacostia River to collect stormwater runoff would help resolve flooding, though he conceded that the tunnel is still 13 years from being completed.

Hawkins’ full letter is below.

Gms Letter for Web