Once again, Mayor Megan Barry's administration is pushing for a new downtown flood wall and protection system — a proposal that's previously failed to win approval in the Metro Council despite backing from Nashville's current and most recent mayors.

This time, both Vice Mayor David Briley, who presides over the council, and Metro Water Services Director Scott Potter say it's time for a final verdict on the long-discussed project.

"I think it's time for the city to decide which way we're going," Briley said. "This has been lingering since the Dean administration. And we need to fish or cut bait on this particular issue so we can take whatever steps the council wants to take in terms of flood protection and mitigation."

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Potter, who unsuccessfully lobbied for the project on behalf of former Mayor Karl Dean, and is now an advocate under Barry, said he agrees.

"It's such a significant project that it's going to require a great deal of study, and analysis, and education," Potter said. "But I do think this is where we need to decide up-or-down.

"I think it's important that we make a decision."

'Starting the process over'

Potter is scheduled to address the council either this month or next with an information session on the downtown flood protection, which when first introduced in 2015 was projected to cost $110 million. It's now up to $125 million.

"Essentially, we're starting the process over," Potter said. "My intention is to begin the process as if it never happened the first time."

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Though Potter had already planned to bring the project back to the council's review, recent flooding in Nashville and catastrophic flooding in Houston from Hurricane Harvey has put Music City's risk of flooding back under the spotlight.

Inspired by Nashville's devastating flood of 2010, Dean first proposed the flood protection system and wall in 2015 as an "insurance policy" for downtown, which he called the economic engine of the city. But the council voted 19-18 to defeat the project.

'Houston shows us that we need it'

Barry gave a vigorous defense of the proposal when asked by reporters last week. WPLN radio first reported her statements.

"I think all you have to do is look at Houston and remind ourselves back where we were in 2010, and you can take a hard look about why we need a flood protection system. That's been something I've pushed for. It's not just about downtown. It's a comprehensive system for our whole county.

"My hope is that the council supports a flood protection system because I think that Houston shows us that we need it."

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The council dealt a blow to the project earlier this year when it voted 24-10 to eliminate the flood wall proposal from the mayor's 2017 capital improvements budget, which works as a placeholder wishlist of infrastructure projects in Nashville over the next six years.

Higher bar in the council required for flood wall following recent action

The council's action did not kill the project, but it means that pursuing it over the next year now requires an amendment to the capital improvements budget, and therefore a higher bar of 27 votes in the 40-member council.

Though the council defeated Dean's initial proposal for the plan in 2015, Barry put the project back on the table after being elected later that year.

The council in 2016 approved Barry's request for $15 million to continue designs on the project and community input. Nevertheless, the water department never kicked off those efforts, citing the department's recent focus on the stormwater fee overhaul instead.

Latest push begins with an 'education process' led by water director

The flood wall and downtown protection system would include a 2,100 foot-long flood wall between the Cumberland River and First Avenue, including a removable wall on one stretch, as well as a $65 million pumping station.

Council members who have opposed the project have argued the city should give more attention to flood-prone areas in residential neighborhoods. Potter has argued that Metro is addressing outlying parts of the county — through a buyout program of vulnerable properties, for example — and that the downtown project fits within a larger flood mitigation system for the entire county.

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During upcoming talks with the council, Potter said he wants to first gauge whether the council is interested in the water department holding a series of meetings to educate the public about the project. He would then report findings from those meetings to the council and identify next steps.

Potter said he's modeling this approach after outreach that preceded Nashville's recent stormwater fee hike. He said his hope would be to include funding for the flood wall and protection system in the next capital budget with plans to begin work on the project during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

"I'm going to begin the education process about how the system would work and make sure that everybody understands the scope and the methods for not only the downtown part of the system, but what we've down in the outlying part of the county," Potter said. "It's not just going to be exclusively about the downtown flood part."

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.