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Columbus's streets transformed into rivers this past weekend, with some residents requiring boat evacuations from their homes—a stark reminder of the city's ongoing drainage crisis. But as local officials reveal in this eye-opening episode, this flooding disaster might have been preventable.

Mayor Keith Gaskin pulls no punches as he details how Columbus left millions in potential watershed funding on the table. While the city secured $6 million (including matching funds) for drainage projects, they could have leveraged their entire ARPA allocation for $11.6 million. Even more staggering, had the city and county collaborated as encouraged by the Lieutenant Governor, the community could have secured a transformative $34 million for comprehensive watershed improvements.

City Engineer Kevin Stafford provides crucial technical context about Columbus's unique geographic challenges, explaining how the city functions like a bowl between two rivers. Using detailed watershed maps, he illustrates how the Luxapalila Creek's massive drainage basin—covering an area 1.5 times larger than Lowndes County—creates conditions where water literally flows backward into certain neighborhoods during heavy rains.

Zack and David analyze the political dimensions of infrastructure decisions, prompting Zack to invoke his father's wisdom: "The guilty dog always barks the most and the loudest."

The guys also laugh about an April Fools joke played on the city by the area's preeminent historian. 

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