As if the blizzard of ’93 wasn’t enough, two months later, east Tennessee experienced the flood of ’93. The blizzard set the stage. When the snow melted it went a long way to filling creeks and other bodies of water. Then the rains began and kept coming.

It wasn’t just discouraging to have clouds and rain for days on end, but then after a particularly heavy night’s rainfall, it became impossible to get around town. Just as it had during the blizzard, school was cancelled.

When the rain slacked off a bit, I decided to go and check out some of the areas that traditionally flooded. The worst was usually down near Eastanalee Creek and Ingleside Avenue, between the Mayfield Dairy and the new county library.

Ingleside Avenue was blocked off just past the elementary school and it was there that a reporter from the Knoxville television station, WBIR set up his camera. He was just out of reach of the flood and was filming all the water rushing across the road. As though on cue, he got his first idiot, uh, I mean, first victim. Someone decided to drive through the through the water. He only got halfway before his truck stalled and there he was, stranded and wet. Someone was finally able to make it out to help the embarrassed man back to high ground. A semi-trailer, parked in the library’s flooded parking lot, was itself flooded. It had been the repository for donated books for the Friends of the Library sale. While Mayfield Dairy wasn’t in any danger, their parking lot and nearby lawn were totally underwater.

This weather event was the impetus to finally figure out something that would keep these streets from flooding, because this wasn’t the first time that area was inundated. Studies were done and grants applied for to solve the problem. The city manager spearheaded a project to turn the area near the creek into a mini-wetland habitat. Fundraisers allowed for a small amphitheater near the library and many volunteers (yes, I got muck on my shoes a couple of times), came out on several occasions to plant the wetland flora.
Skeptics scoffed at the expense and effort to retro the stream into a viable wetland, but when it was done, the pathways, running from Mayfield past the library, allowed residents to see a habitat that they used to have to go to Meigs County on the Tennessee River to experience.

And all of this did exactly what the ecologists said it would do—controlled the flooding. There have been heavy rains and some places have flooded, but not near the library or Mayfield Dairy. Amazing that a place that’s so wet almost never floods! That is the nature of a wetland.

On the E.G. Fisher Library website is the following: “The Wetlands at E.G. Fisher Public Library was created to serve several functions: flood mitigation, wetland reclamation, stream bank restoration, and outdoor classroom space. In this educational environment, wetland visitors have the opportunity to become more environmentally aware and to gain a new appreciation for natural areas.” All in a relatively small area! Learn more about the Athens wetlands at: http://www.fisherlibrary.org/index.php/about/wetlands.

Susan Kite is the author of five books for young adults. Check those out at: www.bookscape.net . She also has a novelette in the book, Zorro; the Daring Escapades coming out May 1st. https://www.boldventurepress.com/zorro-the-daring-escapades/ . The author also has a children’s book coming out later this year or spring of 2021 (Doodle and Peck Publishers), and another young adult book from World Castle Publications.