After running a quick errand March 2015, we returned to find a pool of water in our driveway from a heavy, but short rainstorm. Oh no, what's downstairs? Our house flooded! There was so much water it overwhelmed the small drain in our driveway. The water level kept rising until it went over the top of the foundation and flooded the basement with 2 inches of water. What a mess!

We contacted the City of Seattle that day, since it was their water that flooded our house. Did they do anything about it? Of course not.

That was a freak occurrence, so it couldn't happen again, right? But it did, three more times, for a total of four times in four years,

• March 2015
• October 2015
• December 3, 2018
• December 20, 2019

What can we do?

We cannot stop the stormwater from the street, and we cannot afford to install a proper storm sewer that is large enough to handle the frequent floods, so we're left hoping the City of Seattle will do their job and build a storm sewer, just like the thousands of other storm sewers in Seattle.

Seattle's Excuse for not Fixing the Problem

The City of Seattle has given us the runaround for years, with various excuses to avoid taking responsibility. The crux of their argument is that the flooding we experience would exist in nature, thus they are not responsible. This is excuse is absurd because,

• The City has never done an engineering study to show the water flow is natural.
• There would be no asphalt in nature to divert sotrm water above ground for two city blocks. The water would absorb into the ground.
• The land slopes diagonally away from the street and away from our property. It is only the crown in the paving that keeps the water heading straight down the street.
• There are thousands of storm sewers throughout the City. Why would the City build any storm sewers if they could just arbitrarily claim "natural flow?"

When it rains, a temporary stream forms on the City of Seattle street in front of our house.

Drywall had to be busted open so mold would not form.