Broken Arrow Flood Victims Still Cleaning Up

Thursday, May 11th 2006, 10:17 am

By: News On 6

Up to seven inches of rain fell last Thursday flooding 44 homes, at least 14 of them had major damage. Parts of Broken Arrow were flooded last week and now, officials believe a housing boom may have contributed to the problem.

Wagoner County commissioners recommended a county storm water manager be hired to study the situation.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says in Wagoner County, more than 5,000 homes have been built in the last five years.

Jennifer Fountain remains positive after a week of ripping her house apart and drying it all out. "Replacing drywall and we've got some friends coming over to help us paint and get our lives back together." Her furniture and appliances are draining in the garage. Most of her walls end a few inches off the floor. But it's a big change from when the carpets were soaked and everything low was ruined.

A middle of the night rain storm rolled right in her front door. A week into the mess, the neighborhood is worn out. It's a new development, so most thought this was the last thing they've have to worry about - but they do now - every time it rains. Homeowner Linda Potts: â€œYou're out there watching it, and what can you do to stop it? You can't, you can't, you just let it go through the house."

Jennifer has pictures the neighbors took of flooding from a couple of years ago. It didn't get into her home, but came awfully close. "It makes me angry. They should have known 2 years ago this would happen."

Since the flooding in this area has been a problem before, the homeowners want answers about why it hasn't been fixed before now. They believe with more homes coming in, their problems will only get worse.

The developer, Terry Dorsey, told the News on 6, the subdivision drainage was designed for a 500 year flood.

He said it meets all local standards and just in the last couple of years, he's spent $150,000 on extra flood control. He said after the rain stopped - their retention ponds were draining - but more water was coming into the subdivision from across 41st Street - and he didn't believe any system could be designed to handle that much water.

But News on 6 meteorology data shows it was a heavy but not unpredictable amount of rain - about 6 inches in 2 hours. It was barely a 50 year flood - the kind a modern drainage system should easily handle.