Denser developments will make Madison's flooding worse -- Dan Stier

Our neighborhood along Old Sauk Road in Madison recently received almost 4 inches of rain.

The heavy rainfall caused the sump pumps in the basements of our neighbors just to our north to run full-tilt for many hours thereafter to forestall flooding of their property. That property abuts the site of the massive apartment building proposed by Stone House Development which was approved by the city.

The concrete proposed to be poured and the stone proposed to be laid will eliminate much of the permeable surface, thus greatly exacerbating the problematic flow of rainwater onto our neighbors' property. It is acknowledged by the city and its engineers that the storm sewers along Old Sauk Road are inadequate and unable to control a downpour of this sort. Despite that fact, the city permits the project with the understanding that flooding is a problem for the developer or the neighbors to fix. The developer's plan won't fix the problem, leaving it to neighbors to deal with the flooding of their property.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, the planning commission and the City Council share the blame for the city's massive shirking of responsibility. They created the problem, and they must fix it.

Dan Stier, Madison