The positive effects of drainage work throughout the city over the past 10 to 12 years, supervised by retired engineer M.J. Hensley, were seen this past weekend when about 10 inches of rain fell causing flooding and road closures around the city and county.
"The majority of places we used to have so many problems were fixed when we redid the drainage way," Nathan See, Street Department superintendent, said. "There are two main arteries leaving our city. When we clean them out, it makes it easier for the water to leave the city."
See explained that water from about Carr Street to the wastewater treatment plant all flows to Otter Creek and eventually the Elk River in Missouri. He said water south of Lee Town Road goes to Big Sugar Creek.
There were still places that were flooded where more work needs to be done, See said.
"We're checking to see if there's anything we can do with the problem areas out there," he said.
The damage to the area by the Peck Road bridge is worse than it's been before with side embankments washed out and water lines damaged, See said.
The bridge was rebuilt in 2015 much stronger than when it was rebuilt in 2009 and 2011. It flooded in 2009, 2011, 2013. In 2011, about 7 inches of rain in late April caused flooding that damaged the bridge.
"The surprise is that we don't have near as much damage as we did in the past," See said.
See said an assessment of the cost of damage repair and additional time worked over the weekend by city employees will be sent to the county judge for a determination by FEMA whether there will be any federal funds available to reimburse the city for the costs.
"The first call came about 2 a.m. Saturday," See said, adding that most of the Street Department employees worked throughout the weekend.
General News on 05/03/2017