Workers Sandbag to Protect Metro Center, Water-Treatment Plant

Middle Tennessee continued reeling Monday after a record storm dumped more than 13 inches of rain on the area over the weekend. At least 18 people have died statewide, and more could be found as floodwaters begin to recede.

City and state workers were sandbagging a levee Monday in low-lying Metro Center, north of downtown.

They’re also sandbagging a water treatment plant, which Mayor Karl Dean called a precaution because the city’s other drinking-water plant is out of commission. Dean is asking people not to run washing machines or dishwashers.

“It is vitally important that as the days ahead the water supply gets tighter that we do everything we can to stretch that out. We are making contact with other utilities to purchase water, and we are in a position to bring water into the county, but it is important that people conserve.”

Downtown was unusually quiet Monday, with many shops, schools and government offices closed and workers staying home. Some of the area’s signature sites are underwater, including the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and LP field, home to the Tennessee Titans football team, as well as Bridgestone Arena, home to the Nashville Predators hockey team.

The state correction department evacuated hundreds of prisoners from a prison in West Nashville.

Stephen Fiato lives at the Riverfront Condominums east of Bicentennial Mall. He says police came to his house Sunday night and told him to leave, so he spent last night at a friend’s house before returning to assess the damage.

“It’s about knee-high in water; I walked it today. From the stockyard restaurant on Second all the way over, it’s knee-high in water… We’re on the third floor, thank God. We do not have insurance on that.”

Many government offices are set to remain closed Tuesday, along with schools, and a state legislator said lawmakers wouldn’t convene Tuesday morning either. Officials in Davidson County postponed primary elections until May 18 there, while Williamson county’s primary will go forward, with some voting sites relocated.

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