Perhaps you heard of the recent flooding at Revolution Mills. Perhaps you even saw the report on WFMY 2 that the property is part of a 100 year flood plain. But old timers and residents of the mill village know the floods come much more often than every 100 years.
So if Billy Jones is telling the truth then the question becomes, how did Cone Mills manage to operate millions of dollars of equipment in a building that was so prone to flooding for over 100 years? The answer: They raised the floor.
Okay, so they didn't really raise the floor but they did build another floor above the basement floor thereby creating a crawlspace of sorts that the water could flow into and flow out, when the waters receded, keeping equipment, people, and electrical wiring high and dry. It was a simple solution that worked.
So why is the mill flooding now?
Simple really. That floor was built of very valuable old growth oak and pine beams 8 to 12 inches thick. Thousands upon thousands of board feed, hundreds of thousands of board feet were removed from the building by the original developer and sold-- money in his pocket-- all with the blessing of City of Greensboro Building Inspections and Planning Departments. All demolitions were approved.
Any time, anywhere up stream a new street is built, a new home is built, a driveway or parking lot is paved, the problems become bigger. The new entrance they are building for Print Works on Textile Drive and the improvements to the parking lots at Print Works will only make the problem bigger. The housing development they built behind Print Works a few years back only added to the problem.
Some of the problem could be alleviated by paving parking lots and drive ways with TurfStone made right here in Greensboro by Goria Concrete/Oldcastle. Of course then parking lots must be mowed but it beats flooding. Back in the day I must have delivered a million of those blocks to Smith Mountain Lake where they were used for driveways and boat landings. Wonder why no one thought of Turfstone for the Revolution Mill parking lots?
I guess a giant dry well could be built to catch the excess water. Then after the waters recede the water could be pumped out of the well and into the streams with giant pumps. Sounds really expensive doesn't it? Is there anything down there that can be mined? And what if you hit water on the way down?
The creek could be widened to allowed it to flow several times more water. But that probably should have been done before they built the new parking lots. Don't you think?
I wonder if the folks at Self Help Credit Union know that floor was removed by the previous developer? I wonder if the tenants know that floor was removed by the previous developer? I wonder if their insurance companies know that floor was removed by the previous developer in a plan approved by the City of Greensboro?
Well you can be sure they'll soon know all about it.
