“It rained so much so fast,” Poplar Bluff Street Department Jerry Lawson remarked.
For the flash flooding Wednesday morning, there was little that could be actively done, he noted. A little over four inches fell in four hours, breaking a one-day rainfall record for June in Poplar Bluff, according to the National Weather Service.
Lawson said there were several sites where water washed over the road that had not done so in several years.
Street department personnel set up barricades around heavily affected areas such as Ida Street.
For trouble spots like Ida Street that consistently flood with heavy rains, Lawson said there are limitations on what can be done. He stated the tunnel underneath the street needs to be enlarged by two to three times its current volume.
Given it runs directly underneath First Midwest Bank, he reckons it would be a massive undertaking and necessitate Missouri Department of Transportation involvement.
The Street department has explored putting in a retention basin nearby, but Lawson said there is nowhere to put one. “There’s not a lot we can do,” he confirmed.
For nearby Hendrickson Park, Lawson noted it sits near the convergence of three ditches south of Davis Street. He said that location is uniquely situated to pick up water from surrounding areas.
With more development, the runoff increases exponentially with the amount of concrete and asphalt put down, Lawson affirmed.
“It would be a huge undertaking,” he commented regarding a potential project to alleviate the drainage.
Residents near Hillcrest Park have expressed frustration over the city not using pumps to help keep that area dry.
“It catches several acres of water,” Lawson remarked.
He explained the pumps are only useful for when the river is in flood stage. When the flood gates are open, there is only a set volume that can drain to the river.
Lawson said the pump is not positioned to help with this volume. Instead, it can pump the overflow back into the river once the gates are already closed and the river is in flood stage.
He is monitoring the level of the Black River closely.
“It’s rising,” Lawson stated Wednesday afternoon.
He observed a rate of 15 inches per hour with the level Wednesday afternoon recorded at 7.5 feet. The river crested before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at just under 12 feet or action stage, according to the NWS.
It had dropped to 7.8 feet by early Thursday morning and was predicted to continue dropping.
The street department takes extra countermeasures such as closing flood gates and putting up a barricade on Ditch Road if the river approaches 15 feet. Minor river flooding occurs at 16 feet.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Lawson said.
He applauded the work of the personnel at the Clearwater Dam, but their efforts cannot stem the runoff downstream.