Surprise storm dumps water on area streets

After nearly a year dominated by drought, east St. Mary residents experienced an old problem Sunday: water standing on the streets.
Rain estimated at 5-6 inches fell over a three- to five-hour period Sunday morning, a downpour that seemed to target east St. Mary.
In Morgan City, where the drainage system’s capacity to handle a sudden deluge became a matter of debate after a pump station was moved, the Police Department issued a warning to avoid driving through standing water. The fear was that rubberneckers would push water into homes.
Mayor Lee Dragna also posted a Facebook video urging people to stay off the roads and give the pumps time to work.
“People, quit acting stupid,” Dragna said. “Go home, because you will get arrested.”
Patterson saw widespread street flooding, mostly in the areas of Lee, Francis, Church, Rosemary, Twin and Cleveland streets, plus some areas south of the railroad tracks, Public Works Director Steve Bierhorst said.
“In these areas the water usually goes down within thirty  to forty-five minutes after the rain stops,” Bierhorst said in an email. “I did not receive any complaints of water in any homes.”
Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur said he had also received no reports of home flooding. After a couple of quick, hard rains in 2019, water flooded about 40 homes in Country Club Estates, but the town government has initiated drainage projects that ranged from cleaning out ditches to installing subsurface drainage.
On Sunday, some streets flooded in the Golden Farms area, Arthur said.
The recent dry weather led to leaves collecting in some catch basins, slowing the flow of water into the drainage system, Arthur said.
But “we had all our pumps working and had all our employees out making sure,” Arthur said.
Sunday’s rainfall was especially localized.
The National Weather Service gauge at Acadiana Regional Airport in Iberia Parish reported just more than half an inch of rain 8:30-11:30 a.m., and a poster on the Tri-City Neighbors Inform and Unite Facebook page reported that only1-1/2 inches fell in the Verdunville-Centerville area.
But Arthur said the gauge at Berwick Town Hall recorded 5.5 inches of rain. Bierhorst estimated that 6 inches fell in Patterson, and Tri-City posters said 6 inches fell in Stephensville and Bayou L’Ourse.
The Teche rose about 3 feet in an hour Sunday morning, Arthur said.