Flooded downtown streets are slowly draining as the high tide recedes.
Ron Neufeld, the city’s general manager of operations, said high tide was at 11 a.m., which, along with strong winds and heavy rain made for the perfect storm. It’s the high tide that we see at this time of year that typically contributes to flooding in the downtown core, Neufeld said.
“It’s receding and my understanding is the water starts to recede as the tide goes out,” Neufeld said. “Generally the flooding is pretty localized and pooling water sticks around until the tides recede and then it slowly goes away.”
At the height of the storm earlier today, several roads were blocked off with barriers due to high water.
“There were a few areas – the usual suspect areas that flood every time there’s a combination of heavy rains and high tides,” Neufeld said. “16th Avenue is a repeat offender, if you will, and is usually the first to flood.”
And this time around was no different.
Neufeld said 16th Avenue between Ironwood and Wal-Mart was closed due to flooding, as was 12th Avenue between Dogwood and Greenwood.
Portions of Dogwood Street between 14th Avenue and Cedar were also blocked off with barriers, in the area adjacent to Mariner Square.
High waters also covered Shoppers Row and Cedar Street near the courthouse.
Neufeld said with more heavy rain predicted in the forecast for this weekend and into next week, the city is “expecting to see more over the next week or two.”
