Homeowners, KID Crews Clean Up After Flood

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Story Published: Aug 17, 2008 at 9:26 PM PDT

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

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BENTON COUNTY-- A gopher is to blame for Friday's canal break, according to the Kennewick Irrigation District.

Crews worked through Friday night and all day Saturday to clean up the mess it left behind. Residents of the Cottonwood Springs subdivision raked debris from their yards and examined the damage.

Friday was the second time in two years the neighborhood has been hit by a flood, after rodents chewed holes in the canal.

"It's an aging infrastructure," said Margo Hines, deputy manager of KID. "It's very old, 50 years old or more in some places."

"I looked out the window and there was just water everywhere, flowing down the street super fast, and I just thought, oh no, the canal broke, again," said Jennilyn Kent, who lives in the neighborhood.

"This is now two years in a row, and last year, it was like, oh no, it's a freak accident," said Mike Case, another resident. "But this year, it's kind of like, how does this happen twice?"

"I wasn't too surprised," said Jed Cazier, whose yard flooded. "I was getting my generator ready, because last year they ended up shutting the power off."

KID had pumped the water to full force in anticipation of the weekend's record temperatures.

"It's a big inconvenience," said Case. "Last year, our yard wasn't in. This year, my landscaping was just about done, and now somebody will be back out there and we'll probably have to re-sod."

Besides the hassle of spending time sweeping away debris and fumigating damp and smelly houses before they mold, residents are concerned this apparent liability is going to decrease their property values.

"How do you explain to somebody that it floods every year here?" said Case.

KID crews worked all night to repair the drainage, and Hines knocked on every door in sweltering heat to hear concerns and answer questions. An insurance adjuster will go through the neighborhood Monday to assess the damage.

KID representatives say they don't plan to have the canal's irrigation water back online until the middle of next week.

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