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park slope's sewer system during yesterdays thunderstorm. — Brooklynian

park slope's sewer system during yesterdays thunderstorm.

flux
flux
edited November -1 in Park Slope

Subject: park slope's sewer system during yesterdays thunderstorm.

I saw a bunch on building owners in park slope trying to get water out of their basements yesterday. The sewer drains in the courner of the blocks could not handle the amount of water that came down. When I looked down one of the corner sewer drains, I saw that it was filled with lots of mud and garbage.

Did anyone else have water issues yesterday?

Comments

  • good one
    good one
    the street at garfield and PPW was flooded again after the storm. i grabbed a stick and poked holes to allow water and gunk to flow into the sewer. maybe folks need to do this for the time being since the street cleaners are not hitting the streets right now. anyone else have suggestions to open up the sewer lines to allow water in?
  • flux
    flux
    I would clear the garbage off the corner sewer drain but this time the garbage was inside the drain. I could see the pile of garbage and a very large amount of mud inside the sewer. I just called 311. They transfered me to the DEP. They asked if the water was dirty (an indication that its not rain water), If I saw water coming out of the manhole (i did not), and if others on the block had an issue (they all did).
    I was informed that the DEP will show up in 2-6 hours to inspect the sewer and was given a complaint numer. Ill call them later to find out the status.
  • alafairnadia
    alafairnadia
    I was at cattyshack on 4th and carroll at the time. the water was thigh deep outside, the entire sidewalks were flooded. I have an amusing cell phone pic of a cop car trying to get through the intersection. the owners of the bar got the cops to block off part of 4th ave to divert traffic (it was really stupid of people to even try to drive through a lake) and the firefolks came to clear the drains. the patrons were just trying to keep the water out of the second floor of the bar and the owners were getting it out of the first floor. pretty scary how quickly 4th ave went from normal to horrifying.

    funny anecdote: two gay guys screamed "oh my god! we're stuck in a bar full of lesbians!" then they took iphone pics of people getting waterlogged.
  • pitu
    pitu
    ^^^ha!

    I had a waterfall coming off my roof onto the fire escape - that never happened before.
  • alafairnadia
    alafairnadia
    I've seen storms like that in houston and miami - places where I lived in houses on piers and beams and have no basements so they don't flood - but that was a first for me in NYC. the amount of water that came down was scary.
  • garfunky
    garfunky
    I used to be surprised by how the combo of
    downpour + downhill slope + clogged sewer uphill
    results in 4th ave turning into a small river,
    but ,
    have seen this so many times, now its like
    oh yah 4th is flooded uh huh yep, so what else is new ?

    doesnt mean i dont feel for those who got "damaged" or whatever,

    just sayin.
  • garfunky
    garfunky
    good one wrote: the street at garfield and PPW was flooded again after the storm. i grabbed a stick and poked holes to allow water and gunk to flow into the sewer. maybe folks need to do this for the time being since the street cleaners are not hitting the streets right now. anyone else have suggestions to open up the sewer lines to allow water in?
    this is a nice thing that you do.

    push broom past the sewer to reduce cloggage ?
    a great big can of drano ?
    beyond that i dunno.
    but
    thanks for making the effort .
  • MOD
    MOD
    Alligators work better than drano and they're a green product, all natural.
    I use then in all my sewers :D
  • brookfetish
    brookfetish
    Perhaps if there wasn't a street-cleaning moratorium, this wouldn't be as big of a problem?
  • dapearl9
    dapearl9
    Thigh deep on 4th ave? That's insane.

    I was at a BBQ in the park when it got really bad and decided I'd just suck it up and get drenched. By the time I got to Grand Army Plaza it was clearing up though so I decided to walk back from there. When I was walking between the library and the museum the stairs going up to the smaller park had become a waterfall. It was as if a stream was flowing through the park, down the stairs, and into Eastern Parkway. This was after the rain too. I walked up and down the waterfall stairs which was fun though, although the water was probably filthy.
  • good one
    good one
    this is so bizarre to read some of these. i had no idea the problem was as bad as it appears to be. based on the last post, it's not just the sewers...see, i do believe al gore!!!!
    hopefully the DEP or sanitation will hear what's being said and try to sweep up some of the debris that's blocking the sewers...
  • tnyc
    tnyc
    Every Summer in the 50's the city cleaned out the storm drains in Park Slope. A truck came around, similar to a tow truck, and the end of the chain was a large, steel claw with serrated edges. It was longer than wider. A worker would open the storm drain, in went the claw several times and picked up mud, goop, and all kinds of "things." The claw opened into a waiting dump truck. It was one of the highlights of our
    Summers. This thread just reminded me of that.
  • raw
    raw
    dapearl9 wrote: Thigh deep on 4th ave? That's insane.
    Jesus. A small child could drown. Is this true?
  • alafairnadia
    alafairnadia
    raw wrote: [quote=dapearl9]Thigh deep on 4th ave? That's insane.
    Jesus. A small child could drown. Is this true?

    yes. I witnessed this. not all of 4th ave - just right around carroll, though, obvi, I could not see all the way up and down the ave from the upper floor of cattyshack. the sidewalk was flooded to that point so I wasn't moving. it was fast and after around an hour had subsided but still. really fucked up.
  • flux
    flux
    Holy cow!!!

    http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/06/over_the_weeken.php
  • alafairnadia
    alafairnadia
    flux wrote: Holy cow!!!

    http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/06/over_the_weeken.php
    wow. much better blurry pic than mine! thanks for the link.
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