Ephrata cleaning up after Sunday flooding
Ephrata Fire Department responded to a report of flooding after Sunday's thunderstorm.
EPHRATA - People are cleaning up in Ephrata after a Sunday
afternoon thunderstorm caused flooding throughout the city.
The storm dumped 0.37 inches of water in 47 minutes,
overwhelming drainage systems throughout the city and causing minor
flooding. City staff reported the most notable flooding occurred on
Basin Street, the Safeway parking lot and several residential
neighborhoods.
EPHRATA - People are cleaning up in Ephrata after a Sunday afternoon thunderstorm caused flooding throughout the city.
The storm dumped 0.37 inches of water in 47 minutes, overwhelming drainage systems throughout the city and causing minor flooding. City staff reported the most notable flooding occurred on Basin Street, the Safeway parking lot and several residential neighborhoods.
City Administrator Wes Crago said they received advance notification about the storm from the City of Quincy and personnel were deployed before the rain started, working to clear storm drains.
"Fortunately, the city's storm drain system was completely cleaned on Friday," according to the city. "However, the majority of the rain fell in just 20 minutes, overwhelming the storm drain system and infiltrating some sewer lines. The city had one report of a sewer backup during the storm."
Public Works crews started cleaning up the streets at 2 a.m. Monday.
Construction sites, including the city's street and water project, are being inspected. ?Flooding closed Basin Street and damaged at least one home on Fairview Street, and at least two downtown businesses had minor water damage because of vehicles driving through the flooded street, sending water over the sidewalk, according to the city.
Residential area flooding was largely seen around areas with storm drains not connected to the city's storm water system.
"The depth of the water depends on where you were. There were places on Basin Street where it was over my calf," Crago said. "The flood control channel looked like it was three or four feet deep."
The city reported the flood control channel functioned well, and was near its maximum capacity for several minutes during the peak of the flooding.
The city's project to replace water pipes and repave roads in the southwest area of the city is being delayed because the rain softened the ground, making it unsafe for equipment to work in the area. Crago said the project will resume when the ground dries.