Arlenesflooding.blogspot.com: September 2017

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Services I've Lost Because of The Flooding!

This flooding is nothing I have created! The flooding of my driveway has caused the below issues:

(The responses I've gotten from Kathy Lambert are not helpful to fix or even try to help with the flooding King County has caused for me!)

My furnace is broken and needs repair. Genesee Energy, whom I have a service contract with, refused to come up my driveway on Thursday 9/21/2017 to start my furnace!

The post office has stopped delivering my mail!

The local firemen walked up to my place in their hip boots and told me if I needed them they would not come!

The telephone repair person would not come up the driveway and there was 3' of water to get to the repair box.

AAA would not come up and fix my flat tire!

Repair people will not come out and once they see the driveway flooding, they refuse to come up the driveway!! No one wants to come up my driveway! It's the same thing with my dryer!!

This link needs to be checkout... it's how this flooding all started:

Read about Sahalee Way and it's failure.http://www.iinet.com/~shs/sahaleeway.html

This is the response I received fromKing County Councilmember
Kathy Lambert's office

September 19, 2017

Hi Ms. Ritzhaupt:

Thank you for writing to Councilmember Lambert on this concern. I reach out to the King County Road Services Division (RSD) and the County Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) regarding the reoccurring flooding that takes place at this location. Unfortunately, the flooding on the creek is naturally occurring, and WLRD does not have a program that would allow the county to reduce that flooding. Additionally, the volume count of the traffic on this roadway is low compared to other roadways, and the detour route during the road closure is less than one mile in length. Because of these two factors, this project does not rate high on RSD’s priority list of road drainage problems as many other roadways carry many thousands of motorists each day and/or the detour routes are considerably longer.

The challenge there are not enough funds to go around, and this project did not compete well against other roadway projects when the RSD looked into this previously. Since that time, the RSD now faces a massive funding shortfall that is causing them to not even do basic maintenance such as pothole repairs … which means that a roadway drainage project such as this one is even less likely occur now. I know this is far from ideal, and I recognize that the flooding directly impacts your driveway. I do wish I had a better answer for you. Unfortunately, despite Councilmember Lambert’s efforts to advocate for a solution to this ongoing problem, the department staff has indicated that there is not much that county can do to alleviate the situation. I’m very sorry I do not have better news to report.

Sincerely,

April Sanders

Policy Director | King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert

516 Third Ave, Room 1200 | Seattle, WA 98104

Office - 206.477.0932

This email and any response to it constitute a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Sept 12, 2017 My DRIVEWAY IN THE DARK!

My flooded driveway when I came home last night. The flooding seems to be getting worse. This was much deeper compared to when I left in the afternoon.
This was about two car lengths in after I entered my driveway.
How would you like your 76 year old mom driving up this after dark?!

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Thursday, September 7, 2017

Sept 7, 2017 Yes, road and my driveway are STILL FLOODED!

I just took this afternoon o my road and driveway!
Still flooded today even though we've had very, very small
amount of rain in the last 70 days!!

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NE 50th St at my driveway and mailbox
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This is on the same side of the road as my mailbox...
View of the creek after it comes under the bridge! Oh,
yeah... where is all the water... on my driveway and
property and running down NE 50th St!!
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This is on the same side of the road as my driveway where the creek
flows under the bridge. The water is hardly moving!
This creek used to have very large salmon going upstream to spawn.
Haven't seen that in many, many years!!!
Remember, I am looking straight down over the railing on the bridge.
There is one deck placed on top of the first bridge deck. And notice there
not any space between the water and the bridge.
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This is the entrance to my driveway as of Sept 7, 2017 about 4:30 pm.
No wonder service or repairmen do not want to come up my driveway!

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This was my driveway 9/7/2017
Were it looks like the water stops, notice there
is a reflection of the trees in the water. The water
goes a long way up the driveway!
Remember, I have lived here a very long time (since 1973) and
I am now a senior citizen.
My two daughters walked up and down this driveway!
Each day they went to and from school by walking the
driveway, which was dry and out to hwy 202 to catch the bus until 1984!
I have done NOTHING to cause this water to flow
across my driveway and completely flood my pasture!!!

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Feb 17, 2014 My driveway and NE 50th ST 1:27pm

You must understand that the driveway is not level since it's been eaten away by raging water. Entrance to my driveway and NE 50th ST
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This is when I had my Jeep... you need something with a clearance of at least 7 + inches just to be able to get home. Standing at my driveway looking toward the holding pond and sewer pumping station on NE 50th ST.
This is when the county still cut the grass and cleaned out the ditch, they stopped doing it a few years ago!
Yes, it was very laughable when some King County people told me to take the other driveway. Excuse me, there is no other driveway to my house!
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This is looking toward the Evan's Creek bridge and Hwy 202 Feb 17, 2014.
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Aug 20, 2016 The scum that comes from the flooding

There is a great deal of this scum along my driveway and on NE 50th ST

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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Yes we had horses!

This is Tara and her colt this was taken late 1970 or early 1980.
It shows our old barn in the background.
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Just so you know...
Both my girls showed horses and were well known in 4H and the horse show circuits!
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Jan 18, 2017 10:47am

Plenty of flooding still happening!

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And then I discovered this as I crossed the flooded bridge...
I have no idea what happened.
Is the water mixing in with the sewage from Sahalee?
The Sahalee sewer line is between me and Evan's Creek
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This is on the Sahalee Way side of the bridge.
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1993 My driveway NE 50th St flooding

In 1993 flooding was bad but nothing like it is today!
There was some water because the drain under the driveway was getting clogged from the installation of the sewer room, that is between my driveway and the creek.

Dec 8, 2007 8:34am Going out my driveway

This still happens

Dec 8, 2007 8:32am going out my driveway.... fun huh?

Dec 8, 2007 8:28am NE 50th St bridge and my mailbox

Dec 8, 2007 8:25am NE 50th ST

DEC 11, 2015 1:03pm NE 50th going toward hwy 202

Monday, September 4, 2017

How Did All of This Happen??

This all goes back a bit, to when 228th which became Sahalee Way, slid down the hillside just behind my barn, where it filled in Evans Creek. I know some will say this is all the work of the beavers.
No, it is not!

When we moved to this property in March 1973 the creek bed was way below the bridge on NE 50th St, so low that my husband who was 6'4", was able to bend down and walk under the bridge. And yes, we had salmon swimming up the creek and the kids called them sharks they were so huge. There were also other fish. Now the bridge has a second deck on it since it kept flooding, but the water hardly moves underneath it now. It acts more like a damn!

When the engineers on the project for building the new road, to get people onto the plateau, informed us they were cutting into the hillside and our drinking water would be discontinued. Our water source came out of the hillside in creeks that fed into an old bathtub and filtered into a tank to hold the water. It reached our house by gravity. At that time, we tried to tell them there was a lot of water that came out from that hillside.

You need to go to this link,
read about Sahalee Way and it's failure.
http://www.iinet.com/~shs/sahaleeway.html

Since the pipe to drain the hill above Sahalee, were placed beneath the road and it failed and the hill slid. Those in control decided to insert many drain pipes under the area that had slid as they rebuild the road with lots of added fill. This means that instead of water going into the designated retention pond, located directly across from the sewer pumping station, the retention pond was no longer used. No, it means all the water flows down hill supposedly to Evans Creek. Since the creek bed is filled in it flows onto my property... continuously!!

Result: I'm constantly flooded and as more construction happens more water comes off the hill. Evans creek no longer having a shore or creek bed, means it flows onto my property! My driveway was dry only one day this year!! I believe there was some work done on the stream. Oh, but wait... Rutherford Creek flows under hwy 202 directly into Evans Creek and it all rages onto my property!

I can tell when the homes above water their property since my driveway fills up with water.
Oh and I'm 76 years old and I enjoy playing poker which means, I do come home late... not fun, when you have to navigate this problem!

This flooding has also caused these issues:
The post office has stopped delivering my mail!
The local firemen walked up to my place in their hip boots and told me if I needed them they would not come!
The telephone repair person would not come up the driveway and there was 3' of water to get to the repair box.
AAA would not come up and fix my flat tire!
Repair people will not come out or if they do they refuse to come up the driveway!!
My furnace is broken and needs repair or replacement. No one wants to come up my driveway! Same thing with my dryer!!

I know when the water is halfway up the post for my mailbox, I can't come home!
This situation has been going on for far too many years! I say enough is enough!

Also, when we bought this property we were told the area where we placed our 72' x 36' barn was our property. Now, it shows on the maps, that it is not mine. I built that barn in the mid to late 70's and there was a permit. I do believe, that adverse possession comes into play. The older plat maps do show my barn and driveway as it comes up to the house, as part of my property.

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June 12, 2012 8:23 am

Farther up the driveway toward the barn.

Jan 21, 2012 Sat 1:23 pm under water

This is what my pasture is like or worse during the winter... remember we used to have horses on my land!

Jan 21, 2012 Sat 1:22 pm

This is on the right side of my driveway as I'm exiting my property or, on the same side as the creek.
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You can see the fence post between my property and the other parcel

where Evan's Creek runs.

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Jan 21, 2012 Sat, 1:25pm NE 50th St

At the entrance to my driveway on NE 50th St to Evan's Creek looking towards Hwy 202. The hill to the upper right is the Stormdrain for Northeast sewer district pump and manhole cover. That was all filled in also. You can see the road closed sign on the other side of the bridge.

Waste Management moved my trash can because the

driveway was too flooded.

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So you know why I love this place

I wanted to add this Dec 17th 2011 at 7:44 am Sunrise over our barn.
Once you've seen this in the arms of your love it's as though you've had a glance into heaven. Rest in peace my darling.

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Nov 24, 2011 4:41 pm NE 50th St flooding

At the beginning of my driveway... trying to show the crude that has collected from the creek. Sorry, not the best photo.

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December 25, 2013 NE 50th St

This shows NE 50th and that it is also flooded. You can also tell the drain ditches have not been cleaned out. Maybe the county thinks I'm the only one that uses this road... but you can see I am not!

Nov 24, 2011 heading toward NE 50th St...

This is about midway through the flooding. Here is where the water is flowing very fast and rather deep. On the left is my pasture where we used to have a number of horses grazing but now it's all underwater!
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This is the scum that collects along the edge of the road.

Sewer pumping station March 25, 2011

The property where the pumping station is for the Northeast Sewer District. They brought in a lot of fill, to raise the ground level above the road.
When we first moved here in March 1973 this land was lower than the street so when we did flood, water drained off our property into Evan's Creek.
We used to be a 100 year floodplain and only really flooded when there was a huge storm. We would only get water on our property, once all the other places filled up with water that were off hwy 202 in the Happy Valley area.

May 24, 2011 My driveway 100' or so in from NE 50th ST

This is coming in my driveway. 7:23pm

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NE 50th ST Flooding March 25, 2011