Wed • June 26, 2013 • Situation Normal All Flooded Up

The 2400 block of Oak Avenue has had street flooding for as long as there have been houses on the street, from the late 1940s and early 1950s. During the 100 year floods of '82 and '85, before curbs, the water only reached up to the sidewalks. The addition of curbs in the eighties, which promised residents a respite from flood water changed almost nothing. And cost residents more than $1000 per home. 

Looking west for 1/2 mile on Oak Avenue. The water sinks to the lowest point on the 2400 block of the street. When curbs were added, additional grates were not.  There are only four grates on the 2400 block. At the lowest point, where all the water collects, there are just two grates to remove the excess water. This picture was taken next to one of the grates. The other one is directly across the street. The other two are located in the dry area, above, where they are virtually useless.  

Looking east for 1/2 mile on Oak Avenue. 

You'll notice a woman on the sidewalk, looking down at the camera, wondering how to get to the train. She made the mistake of using Oak Avenue as her route to the Milwaukee Road. We suggested that she just walk on the lawns, past the flooded sidewalks, since she was wearing sneakers and wouldn't ruin her shoes. 

This view after the water had drained is to show how small the grates are. Eight hours after the rain, that tiny opening can finally handle the water without backing up.

This is the second grate --  across the street from the one above. When the rains come, the street fills up with water, like a bathtub with a tiny plug. It's like trying to squeeze an 800 pound gorilla into a five pound bag. 

The UPS truck came barreling down the street, with no concern for flooding out his engine. Several residents on the block stayed home from work today, because they don't drive trucks and couldn't get out of their driveways without risking damage to their engines. Meetings with clients were re-scheduled. So were doctor and dentist appointments. Several kids missed day camp. 

Another private storm sewer removing water from a backyard. When it rains, this resident attaches a PVC pipe to the outtake to speed removal of the water from his backyard. The houses on Maple are on a higher grade and dump their water into the Oak Avenue backyards. 

Another view of Oak Avenue looking east. The stop sign is at Western Avenue. As rains go, this flooding is now the rule, not the exception. It doesn't take much. As a reminder, remember there are only two grates trying to absorb all this water. We should probably also mention that the infrastructure improvement scheduled to start in May was postponed for cost/benefit reasons. The village insists that the project has not been cancelled.  

This water is being pumped from a flooded back yard. The pump sits on top of a drain which extends all the way from the back yard to the front lawn. After heavy rains, the pump can be removing excess water for six or more hours. 

This is water-damaged new carpeting from the June 26 flood, which replaced what was lost in a similar flood earlier this year, which replaced carpeting lost in another flood last year. The financial losses in furnaces, hot water heaters, washers and driers, electronics, and furniture have been growing incrementally since the first new construction in the nineties at the start of the housing boom. Raising the grade for new housing has been a particular source of excess water. 

This photo is slightly out of focus. Taken this morning around 6 AM, it shows the extent of flooding in just one of the affected backyards. The increased backyard flooding began after two teardowns on Maple Avenue were replaced with much larger McMansions. The grade for the homes on Maple was already two feet higher than the properties on Oak Avenue. The new construction increased the grade to four feet. The size of the yards was also drastically reduced by additional footage from large, impermeable patios and driveways.