Post by walkswithblackflies on Jul 5, 2017 12:57:14 GMT -8
As some of you may know by way of my "4 Trillion Gallons" thread and other posts, we've been getting a lot of precipitation in central NY state recently. Today marks the first time since early October that we've had more than 3 precipitation-free days in a row. The first half of the year (thru June 30) saw around 60% more precipitation than normal... and each of the 6 months has been above average. Last week, we kept getting hit by short but intense thunderstorms every 6 hours or so. By week's end, the hard rains would overwhelm drainage systems and retention basins designed to hold 100-year events. Then on Saturday, all hell broke loose. The area around Syracuse, especially in the hills, saw 3-4" of rain over a period of about 6-8 hours. With everything already overwhelmed, the water had no place to go other than the creeks. The Syracuse - Utica corridor experienced flash flooding.
The creek I live on holds rain events well. It has developed to hold springtime snow melt (remember, this is Syracuse afterall). Although I figured the creek would overflow the banks, I wasn't overly worried. When I woke up Sunday morning, I was greeted by this. The level is about 8 feet above average flow. "Hmmm... I guess I'm not doing yard work today"
Video of the rise of nearby creek in 5-10 minute intervals over the course of an hour:
A gauge on the creek adjacent to "my" creek recorded a level of 8.95 feet... second highest on record after Hurricane Agnes resulted in a level of 9.13 feet (my creek doesn't have a gauge).
Video from creek adjacent to "mine". It is typically a babbling brook, known for its trout fishing.
We made out better than most. There was extensive flooding in the Utica area.
We decided to make the best of it...
There is a depression in my yard (likely the former path of the creek) that held floodwaters for well over a week. A couple years ago, my brother and I installed a drainpipe and catch basin. It worked like a charm. Within one day, the water was gone from my yard. And the drainage improvements I made to the front of our house last year kept our basement and garage nice and dry.
After the flood. You can see the level of the flood from the residual silt.
Some small fish were stranded, so the kids and I rescued them.
On a positive note, I went kayaking on the creek yesterday, and many log jams had broken free. Of course, they're all piled up against the bridge next to my house now... but the County should be removing those in the next couple of weeks.
The creek I live on holds rain events well. It has developed to hold springtime snow melt (remember, this is Syracuse afterall). Although I figured the creek would overflow the banks, I wasn't overly worried. When I woke up Sunday morning, I was greeted by this. The level is about 8 feet above average flow. "Hmmm... I guess I'm not doing yard work today"
Video of the rise of nearby creek in 5-10 minute intervals over the course of an hour:
A gauge on the creek adjacent to "my" creek recorded a level of 8.95 feet... second highest on record after Hurricane Agnes resulted in a level of 9.13 feet (my creek doesn't have a gauge).
Video from creek adjacent to "mine". It is typically a babbling brook, known for its trout fishing.
We made out better than most. There was extensive flooding in the Utica area.
We decided to make the best of it...
There is a depression in my yard (likely the former path of the creek) that held floodwaters for well over a week. A couple years ago, my brother and I installed a drainpipe and catch basin. It worked like a charm. Within one day, the water was gone from my yard. And the drainage improvements I made to the front of our house last year kept our basement and garage nice and dry.
After the flood. You can see the level of the flood from the residual silt.
Some small fish were stranded, so the kids and I rescued them.
On a positive note, I went kayaking on the creek yesterday, and many log jams had broken free. Of course, they're all piled up against the bridge next to my house now... but the County should be removing those in the next couple of weeks.
