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Weekend rain floods homes and streets in Washington County
Storms dumping inches of rain cause multiple feet of flooding
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WASHINGTON — Hours of steady, heavy rainfall late Saturday into Sunday morning left parts of Washington County underwater, as more than four inches of rain overwhelmed streets, homes, and storm drains.
Residents in Washington and Ainsworth spent the day responding to flooded basements, blocked roads, and power outages, in what many described as the worst local flooding in decades.
“This has been a crazy last few weekends,” said Jessup Kremer of SEI Drain & Excavating in Ainsworth, who fielded over 50 calls from residents dealing with waterlogged basements. “We’re not used to five inches at a time here.”
In Ainsworth, flooding came fast and hard. Photos shared from Railroad Street showed water reaching the bottoms of mailboxes.
“It was crazy! And still is crazy,” said resident Makenzie Martin. “I pray everyone is OK and didn’t obtain too much damage.”
Some of the worst-hit properties were homes built low or partially below ground, but even those on higher ground felt the impact of heavy rain.
“Thirty years living here and we’ve never had water come up through the floors,” said Traci Vonnahme.
She noted their flooding didn’t result from surface water, but instead “came from the ground up.”
Ainsworth’s churches weren’t spared either. The Ainsworth Community Church reported “an inch or more of water in the basement” and called on community members for help with cleanup.
Down the street, Brenda Kirk was running a sump pump through the early hours of the morning.
“Worst flooding I’ve ever seen here,” she said. “We’ve never had so much water coming in … We keep pumping and it just kept coming.”
Power outages compounded the crisis, though most of those in Ainsworth were only without power for a few hours in the very early morning.
“My basement had a lot of water in it,” said Linda Stout. “Thanks to the electricity going out, the water came up and floated the sump pump on its side. It didn’t work like that. The sump pump is working OK now.”
In Washington, police logs reflected the widespread impact. At 3:51 a.m. Sunday, multiple roads were reported flooded to impassable levels, prompting city crews to block off intersections like North 2nd at the railroad underpass, E 6th between 4th and 6th, and portions of North 12th Street. Several vehicles stalled in standing water across town, including on Main Street, E 3rd, and N 13th Ave.
According to Washington City Administrator Joe Gaa, the city’s stormwater and wastewater systems were overwhelmed but operational.
“This all came really quick, and is more than the system can handle,” Gaa said. “But everything’s working as it should, at least at this point. Hopefully no more heavy rains.”
Gaa said city crews began receiving calls around 4 a.m., and some streets were already reopening by 6 a.m.
“The storm sewers were doing what they're supposed to do — they're just much smaller than the capacity we had,” he explained. “It took a little longer to pump the overpass out, but by [Sunday] evening, it was water-free. We just needed to do a little cleaning, and everything was open this morning [Monday].”
“My yard was a giant puddle,” said Amelia Roate of Washington. “My road was pretty full … it engulfed my Jeep as I drove through.”
Her sister, Ashley Roate, reported waking up to soaked basement walls and helping neighbors remove belongings from flooded apartments.
“A friend of mine, Haley, had to throw everything away in her basement due to flooding,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to just need a couple of fans and a dehumidifier.”
Washington emergency lines received a steady stream of calls Sunday morning, including homes at 1100 E Main and 945 W 3rd reporting basement flooding. One caller said their sump pump had failed, leaving standing water inside.
Others, like those living on Railroad Street in Ainsworth, reported “water up to their waist,” according to Kremer.
Kremer emphasized the importance of preparation and infrastructure maintenance for situations like this.
“Make sure your sump pumps are working,” he said. “Have your sewer lines inspected. People are just now figuring out problems they’ve had for years.”
Kremer, who has been in the plumbing and excavating business for over a decade throughout Washington County, said the storm exposed long-standing problems in older infrastructure.
“There’s a bunch of sewers backing up — older systems made of clay tile, broken or clogged by tree roots. And fields just aren’t draining fast enough,” he said.
These issues combined with the deluge created a wet and stressful Sunday morning for many throughout the county.
According to Muscatine Iowa Weather Storm Team, the intense rainfall was brought about by a shifting ridge of high pressure putting Eastern Iowa directly in a storm meteorologists call the “ring of fire.”
While the rain is done for now, meteorologists warn that more could be on the way this week.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
