by Lin McNulty
Water pours from the drain pipe at Templins Square. Photo: Lin McNulty
Who was it who said, “Experience is the best teacher?” Recent experience coupled with quick action on the part of the County Public Works, Orcas Fire and Rescue, as well as alert and “seasoned” business owners averted the latest attempt by Mother Nature to deluge Eastsound.
Between 10:15 a.m. and 1:55 p.m. on Saturday, NOAA recorded nearly half an inch of rain at the Orcas Island Airport. This amount was thankfully much less than the two inches of rain that fell on September 25 and brought 2-3″ of rain into businesses in Templin Square.
Mid-day, the village was bright with orange vests of Public Works employees patrolling, scooping and sweeping leaves, placing sandbags where necessary to protect local businesses from any potential flood waters. Fallen leaves have increased the potential for clogged drains.
That same orange-vested crew was observed re-orienting previously placed sandbags on edge—rather than flat—to ensure the barrier would be high enough to keep out the waters.
“We were lucky,” said Jeremy King of Orcas Outfitters. “No flooding this time.”
Public Works employee on “leaf patrol,” as sandbags protect local buildings. Photos: Lin McNulty
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I would like to thank Orcas Fire and Rescue and County Public Works for the quick response to divert flooding water from Prune Alley and Templin’s Center.
Our sincere thanks!
Marlace and Rick Hughes
Is this the same drain that flooded Templin’s a few weeks back?
An Orcas Issues article of October 2, a press release from Stan Matthews, states: “San Juan County Public Works crews worked to clear storm drains and remove debris washed in from the intense flow.”
Yet when I was working on this flooding event this morning, that drain vault was full of mud and gravel, and the drain pipe was clogged with mud, silt, and gravel at least 4-5 feet into the drain, which is as far in as I could reach with my shovel.
So when was this drain last serviced? What is the County’s service and inspection schedule for this drain, and others in Eastsound? Why did it fail this time? Did all that mud and silt manage to accumulate during the last month, after the last storm?
I 100% agree. I can’t say how much I appreciate Public Works and Especially OIFR’s response today. We took a huge financial hit during the last incident. Brian is dead on, however, asking what happened. Those drains need put on a preventative maintenance plan more thorough than clearing leaves off the grate. Certainly this cannot be considered another rare event coming only a month after the last one. If we had had another event like the last one with similar loses we would probably be out of business come Monday. Again, thank you OIFR and Public Works for coming to the rescue.
These reports are extremely valuable and informative for business owners, and let’s not forget the source of information that lets everyone know of the liabilites of future flood damage….Lin McNulty, reporter for the Orcas Issues. Thanks Lin, for being responsive to the community awareness. Everyone is happy/gratified to be informed, but without Lin’s “reporter sense” there would be no awareness at all.