Memorial Day deluge

The Memorial Day holiday, normally a time of reverence and reflection on those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us, provided a rude awakening for Carrington homeowners when a thunderstorm hit the city hard Monday, May 30.

As much as 4 1/2 inches of rain dumped down on the city in a 24-hour period, flooding basements and lawns and overpowering Carrington's municipal storm sewer sytem.

The severe weather put the city's Public Works Department hard at work to alleviate the stress of the rainwater on the sewer and the streets.

"It was a little taxing," Public Works Director Jason Wolsky said. "Holiday or not, we all understand it's our job. Fortunately, all of the crew was in town, and we were all out and about within 20 to 30 minutes."

Wolsky estimated that the first weather event that came through town passed over the area around noon, and that was the storm that did the most damage.

"It was around 2 1/2 to 3 inches in about a 40-minute time frame, and that's what overwhelmed our system," he said.

Since Wolsky took over as the City's Public Works Director three years ago, succeeding Mitch Otten in the post, there have been two to three instances of major city-wide flooding.

"We've had some additional areas that flood worse than others," he said, "but major events like the one on Monday dump a lot of rain in a short amount of time.

Wolsky says that the current sewer system was installed sometime in the 1930s, according to Interstate Engineering.

Over time, the city has made upgrades to the system by putting additional drainage pipe in the ground, replacing sections of aging or damaged pipe, and creating holding ponds such as the one just east of Carrington Elementary School, and another on the west side of town.

"Currently, our system is designed to handle

1 1/2 inches of rain per hour. After 10 p.m. when it kept raining, we didn't see much flooding because the rain was at a slower rate and the system was able to handle it all."

There have been extensive discussions among Interstate Engineering, the City Council, Auditor Jennifer Gast, Mayor Tom Erdmann and himself, Wolsky said, as to what can be done about the situation.

One step that has been taken the past three summers is the hiring of an outside firm, Pipe Detectives of Jamestown, to inspect the city's sewer pipes.

"Not only do they clean the storm sewer pipes, they also get camera footage and inspect them for cracks, breaks which can cause backups, and infiltration," said Wolsky.

He says there have been some areas identified by the Detectives where pipes have been clogged with material, which causes the water to drain off the streets slower.

"Their reports also give us the ability to look and see if it's a pipe issue, or if we're running into a capacity issue," he noted.

One major issue that Wolsky wishes to highlight is when residents blow grass clippings into the streets and gutters, which eventually washes down the storm drains and can cause issues.

"I continue to ask residents to refrain from doing so, and there will be discussions moving forward regarding how to handle any residents/offenders who are doing this," he said.

Wolsky empathizes with homeowners who are experiencing flooding issues in their basements, saying, "I've had them at my residence as well."

"Unfortunately, this year with the late, wet snow falls we've had, and the abundance of rain, I think most everyone in town is experiencing some sort of problems."

He noted that there have been numerous people, some who have lived in town for 15 to 20 years or more, commenting to him that their sump pumps have never had to run.

"Now, this year, it doesn't shut off."

Wolsky wishes to let Carrington residents know that he and the Public Works Department are doing everything they can to get water to drain off city streets as quickly as possible when floods happen.

In the event that there is another weather emergency that causes flooding, the City of Carrington and Wolsky advise these guidelines:

• If you are driving around town, do not drive around barricades or cones.

"In this last instance, we had numerous reports of people going around them and driving through the water," Wolsky said. "What this does is push the water further up towards housing, causing more damage and heartache to the homeowners."

He also noted that because of the water pressure, manhole covers can pop off and damage vehicles if they drive over an open hole.

"We have these areas coned and blocked off for a reason, so please abide by that," Wolsky said.

• When there are high waters, limit usage of toilets, sinks, showers and washers until the city lift station can catch up.

"We did have personnel from Public Works monitoring lift stations all night to prevent any failures on our end, and to ensure that everything kept running as efficiently as possible," Wolsky concluded.