Waterlogged areas cast wary eye toward weekend forecast

EMERALD ISLE — A forecast of more rain over the weekend is not welcome news for Emerald Isle Town Manager Frank Rush.

While areas throughout Onslow and Carteret counties have been waterlogged thanks to recent storms, the town has been hit particularly hard with approximately 17 inches of rain since Nov. 11, creating storm-water flooding problems, particularly in the Coast Guard Road area.

"They are forecasting additional heavy rain on Sunday, the National Weather Service was saying three inches. I hope we don’t get it," Rush said.

Five fixed pumps the town installed in the Coast Guard Road area as part of a storm-water management project have been working nonstop to pump stormwater to the collection area at Emerald Isle Woods.

In addition, eight portable pumps have been strategically placed in areas as needed to alleviate flooding along roadways and public access areas.

As of Friday night, there was still several inches of water on the road in some areas and flooding in yards but the pumps were helping.

"We’re gradually making progress and getting back to normal," Rush said.

But the problem has been that the rain keeps coming.

The town first brought out the pumps after about 12 inches of rain fell around Nov. 11, the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

"A lot of that flooding had cleared up by Sunday, but then we got his by another five inches of rain," Rush said.

Rush said compounding the problem was that the ground was still saturated from the first rain when the second wave hit.

During the worst of the flooding, some residents have seen water reach the ground floor of their homes, yards have flooded, and water over roads has been a challenge.

"Last week and (Thursday), there were areas where water was extremely deep over roads and they were hard to pass through," Rush said.

Rush said the storm-water flooding has been the worst he’s seen since he’s been town manager.

"It is the worst experience we have had," he said. "There’s water everywhere."

Rush said most of the portable pumps have been pumping storm-water to vacant lots, upland sites and anywhere available. With approval from the N.C. Division of Water Quality, the town has been able to pump water into the ocean at three locations.

Contact Jannette Pippin at 910-382-2557 or jpippin@freedomenc.com.