KELLEYS ISLAND – Cleanup on Kelleys Island continues after record-setting rain caused floods on July 6 that damaged roads, public buildings and homes.
“I don’t know if you heard this one. We had a 1,000-gallon propane tank on West Lakeshore Drive come loose where it came down and busted through a white fence. And that tank was 70% full! They just filled it the other day,” Kelleys Island Mayor Ron Ehrbar said.
“That water was deep in order to float that tank,” Kelleys Island State Park Manager Chris Ashley said.
The tank came to rest about 100 yards from the lakeshore.
Most of the rain fell in fewer than 6 hours, overwhelming everything on the island.
Starting early in the morning of July 6, 17 inches of rain fell on most of the island; the northeast edge and into Lake Erie received about 20 inches.
“Well, Kelleys Island is a rock, and most of the water rolled off the island or into the big crevasses in the stone,” Ashley said. “Everything was operating. We were just soggy.”
Ashley and Ehrbar discussed the ongoing cleanup efforts July 15.
Ashley said that the park had bigger problems three years ago when they received 9 inches of rain with an unofficial tornado. That storm brought down many trees.
The biggest and most immediate problem was drinking water. Ehrbar pointed out the irony that the island’s water treatment plant flooded. The 9 feet of water that filled the basement caused problems for the pumps. However, there was no loss of pressure and no polluted lines.
“The pumps were totally covered, and the electrical panels. It’s a basement area and it’s got a high ceiling. It was water that backed up,” Ehrbar said.
He explained the basics of the system.
“We had water already made. Our water department makes it and we had water on hand. Every so many days, when it gets to a certain point, we make water. They don’t wait until the last minute to make it because you have to have it for fire and that kind of stuff,” Ehrbar said. “So they quit making water and they had to have the pumps dry out. By the end of the day on Monday, we were pretty much back online in less than 24 hours. No polluted lines. We had the health department up here. They sent 10 people up here. We have some wells on the island and you have to worry about your septic systems leaching into the wells.”
Ehrbar said the Erie County Health Department has been available for testing those wells. The Erie County EMA also brought over bleach and cleaning supplies.
The state park is the largest consumer of water on the island due to its use by campers, and its property makes up about 25% of the land.
The town hall was also flooded with 3 feet of water. That subsided and was largely fixed in a few days, but that’s also where a lot of EMS and police equipment is stored. Ehrbar estimated the island lost $40,000 in EMS equipment and $1,000 in police equipment.
The school also had damage, with water flooding the basement.
“Three years ago, insurance replaced it all and we have the same process in motion again,” he said. “We’ll see if it’s covered.”
Ehrbar said, that time, the Ohio Public Works Commission Emergency Fund covered an issue they had with the water treatment plant water intake.
The roads also flooded and tree limbs came down.
The volume of rain showed the power of water, as it hit private residences hard, with many basements and crawl spaces flooded. It also created some unusual problems.
One tree cutting service that went out to the island, whose worker declined to be named, said that they were replacing the wood chips that covered the trails at the 4-H campground, because “They were swept into Lake Erie.”
There was also a waterfall over West Lakeshore Drive. It washed away the shore and started to wash away the road base. The base was temporarily built back up with riprap, which is loose large stone.
Ehrbar said that there are also no estimates for the private residences that had basements and crawl spaces filled with water. Driving around the island, commercial disaster cleanup company vehicles were parked at various houses, some with new furnaces and other items in the driveways.
There are no estimates yet for the total losses to the village.
Contact Roger LaPointe at 419-332-2674.
This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Kelleys Island record rains knocked loose a 1,000-gallon propane tank
Reporting by Roger LaPointe, Fremont News-Messenger / Port Clinton News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Roger LaPointe, Fremont News-Messenger | USA TODAY Network
