Monday night, Lincoln's City Council approved a bond that will improve the city's storm drainage system. They vote on one of these bonds every two to three years and once again, it's up to Lincoln residents to make the final decision.
The city is asking for $7.9 million to fix old and broken drainage systems around town. If voters pass it in November, the improvements will cost the average taxpayer an extra $5.40.
"We're focusing on urban storm drain projects. We want to enhance the amount of water going through the pipes. Sometimes we need to fix them, sometimes we need to add more and sometimes they're under capacity," said Ben Higgins, Senior Engineer.
Getting those pipes up to par means neighborhoods and businesses will see less flooding during normal storms.
"We can't do much against a hundred year event. People will get flooded. We don't have funding to maintain that kind of flow," said Higgins.
If citizens approve the bond, the city will have the funding to improve pipes in the worst condition.
Higgins says these bonds are the only source of funding for drainage maintenance projects. The money would also be spent repairing areas where flooding has been a frequent problem.
