nazSTUFF - Flood in the Neighborhood 02

Rascal Inquires, " If You Are Not Concerned About the Future, Then You Haven't Been Paying Attention." This, then is our advertising campaign, to contribute to your well being.

Home Improvements and Experiences

Some of my Experiences as a Homeowner

This is an ongoing report of my experiences doing maintenance and dealing with some adversity around the home. My experiences are not unique, in fact the universality of what every homeowner must face is why I decided to make this journal. We all buy a house with dreams and aspirations for our family and our financial investments. Very soon we become aware that everything requires repair and maintenance, be it landscaping, paint, roof, etc. Everything begins to deteriorate from the day it is created. I've taken photos of some of my bigger projects and I'm posting them here with captions as part of a contribution to an invisible support group, other homeowners. Some of this is therapy with the intent of creating empathy and humor regarding our shared experiences.

Home Sweet Home.

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Flood Planes in Your Neighborhood 02

If you are new to Flagstaff, Arizona and you are shopping for your first house here you generally do not think about flooding as a potential problem. We have no rivers nearby and Lake Mary is far to the south. There is a storm drain through town called the Rio de Flag but it is empty and dry nearly every time we see it.

But if you go to our city's web site and look up flood plane study maps you'll find that we exist as a community right on top of million year old drainage systems from the San Francisco Peaks, many of them dug out by glaciers in times past.

Above is a typical neighborhood map from north central Flagstaff, allowed to develop long before the city completed any flood studies. Some major streets in this part of town lack storm drains, the street slope itself being the path for rain water. Many homeowners back yards have been taken by the city to make room for "after-the-fact" ditches and dirt canals in an effort to fix the problem. Places where city streets overlay nature's original flood system are all over town.

On New Years 2005 I had the opportunity to be in this neighborhood when a warm and heavy rain arrived on New Year's Eve and melted much of the existing snow pack. Here's just a few of my photos from that three days of flooding.

December 31st, 2004, run off from the meadow north of the Elk's Club crossing Fir Street and entering a man-made dirt canal through private property.

Later the same day, the water flow is more than double now.

This is the torrent of flood water running from the same dirt canal where it meets the public street, adjacent to private homes. There is a culvert here that simply cannot accommodate this amount of water.

The entire neighborhood is flooded, including nearly every back yard.

Flood water actually touched the exterior siding of some houses, seeping through the wall and causing sheet rock and carpet damage.

Read on...

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