Flood of 2025 Strikes Edmonson County

 

 

Lynn Bledsoe

Gimlet Editor

 

Last week extreme weather passed through the county. With record rainfall recorded in the area on Saturday, February 15, followed by several inches of snow on Sunday morning, the creeks and rivers swelled to overflow.

The Army Corp of Engineers stated the Dam at Nolin was working well and “doing what it was supposed to”. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Damn Safety team and staff from Nolin River Lake conducted safety inspections at the Nolin Dam on February 17. These are routine inspections during high water events to make sure everything is working as it should. No issues were found in the safety of the dam. As of Feb. 16, the water levels at the lake were 527.3 feet and rising. The dam levels reported by Nolin River Lake; US Army Corp of Engineers reported the highest amount as of (February 20, 2025) Lake Level at 6 am: 539.71 Ft.

 

 

Kevin Shaw from the Edmonson County Water District stated that the rains have caused small issues with the ground becoming soft. This has caused a few more line breaks than normal. Access to the Brownsville plant has been blocked due to the high waters. Employees use ATVs to reach the tower plant by going across country. Brownsville City Council member, Justin Meredith, spoke with landowners to get consent for the Water District to be able to cross down over the hillside in ATVs and side by sides and showed them a route they could use. The Green River did reach up to the tower structure, but Shaw said there were still several feet before the high water became an issue. The Green River was expected to crest on Tuesday.  Shaw stated he did not expect the cold temperatures to cause a lot of line breaks, but everyone is on standby in case a need arises.

 

 

Property owners Jeannie Hudson Brothers and Davey Brothers on North Alexander Creek Road had some issues with flooding of their horse farm. Jeannie trains horses with the help of her husband Davey. Davey Brothers said once the Lock 5 was removed Alexander Creek water levels dropped to 6 inches. Brothers has been in touch with Senator Guthrie’s office due to the water dropping so low and affecting the creek banks and natural wildlife of beavers and otters.  With the flooding rains, you could not tell where the creek was located. The only other time he had seen the water this high was in 2010 when Nashville had major flooding also. Now the problem is the flooding. 12 horses and a half ton of feed had to be moved from the barn as water rose to completely cover the inside of the barn.

 

 

Many residents’ lives were interrupted due to the high water. Luckily no lives were lost in Edmonson County.