Riversmart Photo Galleries and Virtual Tours

For me, it began with my wife waking me at about 8:30 am and telling me we had a problem in our basement. Barefoot and in my pajamas, I headed to the cellar where I stepped into 3’ of water. I soon discovered my little utility pump didn’t stand a chance against the rising water. I checked out the floor drain. Was it plugged? No, not plugged, just operating in reverse. The rain came so fast and hard, our already high water table could absorb no more. The drain provided a relief valve of sorts and it pumped water into the basement. I stuffed a towel into the 2.5” opening to slow the inflow. I began to raise everything that wasn’t wet to higher surfaces. At 9:30 am I turned off the power in the cellar and I called the fire department to please come pump it out. If water reached the electrical outlets, that would spell dangerous trouble. By 10 am the water’s depth reached 12” Bob and Brandon Root arrived with the fire truck. I’m sure we were just one of many calls. The two of them worked very hard to help others on that day! With a powerful pump they sucked down the water to a more manageable level. Around 11 am, the rain slowed. With the water level down to 3” again I used my one working pump and a wet vac to remove the last of the water.

The worst of it was over and I could begin the cleanup process, which would take days.

I walked down Pond Road to see what the pond looked like.