Nevada residents are pushing for more flood mitigation efforts after a recent string of severe weather and heavy rainfaill caused significant damage.
A few areas of Story County flooded when rain pounded the area July 2-4. Six inches of rain drenched Nevada and Colo overnight.
A few homes experienced flash flooding from the sheer amount of water moving across the county, and there were reports of water in basements in several communities.
Nevada is not the only community that suffered from recent flooding, Nevada Mayor Ryan Condon said.
“Every community around us from here to Des Moines also has this issue happening,” Condon said. “You know, you get 13 inches of rain in two days, the honest answer is no one’s equipped to deal with that at this time.”
Multiple Nevada residents attended the Nevada City Council meeting on Monday, July 13 to bring their concerns to city officials. Speakers claimed they’d had sewage flood their basements more than once in the past few years after heavy rainfall.
No action was taken since residents spoke during public comment.
Sewage causes damage in multiple Nevada basements
Nevada resident Matt Rhodes said he woke up at 1:18 a.m. on July 4 to sewage in his basement. It seeped into the new carpet he’d put in after a similar thing happened last year.
Sewage has flooded Rhodes’ basement after heavy rainfall each of the two years, a problem he never had in the previous 22 years.
He openly pondered if the city’s lift station at the Wastewater Treatment Plant completed in 2025 could be the cause.
Wastewater Supervisor Devin Cornish said the lift station can handle 6,000 gallons per minute with all four pumps operating at 100%, a much higher capacity than the old one.
Around eight million gallons came through the plant July 2-4, he said. Normally there’s a flow of 1.3 to 1.5 gallons per day.
Resident Chris Hinson bought his house 14 years ago and said he never “saw a drop of basement flooding” until two years ago. He tore out his floor and re-laid it. The most recent flooding is causing issues yet again.
“I think there’s clearly a problem, and I don’t know what the problem is,” Hinson said. “The other thing that’s kind of stressed me out a little bit is I don’t know if I’m going to be in this house forever, and I can’t imagine how many tens of thousands of dollars I’ve lost in resale value.”
Jim George said he had over $25,000 worth of damage in his basement last year, and is now faced with the same problem again.
“When you push sewage back into our homes, it gets real personal,” George said.
Aging infrastructure could be the problem in Nevada
Cornish said Nevada’s aging infrastructure could damage the sewer system, allowing inflow and infiltration to enter.
“Complaints are not unheard,” Cornish said. “We are working to correct the issue; it’s just going to take time.”
Story County residents can receive state aid for storm damages
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Story County on July 6, as well as Jasper, Osceola and Polk counties.
The proclamation will last for 30 days, allowing state resources to be used for storm recovery. It activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant program and the Disaster Case Advocacy program.
Story County residents can report damages at https://ia-state.orioncentral.com/SelfReporter. Residents can also self-report damages directly to Story County Emergency Management.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: ‘There’s a problem’ Nevada residents seek better flood mitigation
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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By Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune | USA TODAY Network
