Storm drains bubbled, man hole covers popped off and finally water came pouring into basements in an East Watertown neighborhood.
Homes in a normally quiet corner of town, where Laurel Street and Melendy Avenue come together, had water around five feet high in the street due to the heavy rains Monday morning.
“Water ran like a river down the sidewalk and got into my yard,” said Laurel Street resident Brian Patriacca. “My basement was chest deep. It was almost to the windows.”
Around 11 a.m. – about two hours after the rainfall – Watertown Firefighters were pumping out Patriacca’s basement. The electricity and gas were turned off. Patriacca worried that his water heater and electrical panel may have been damaged.
This is not the first time this has happened to Patriacca and his family. He lives in the home with his wife and 11-month-old daughter.
“The basement isn’t finished anymore. It was until three years ago when it flooded,” Patriacca said.
Around the corner on Melendy Avenue, a man tried to dry-vac out his cars, into which water had penetrated. The man, who did not give his name, said he is not sure why it keeps happening, but he too had been flooded twice over the past few years.
The owner of the home on the corner is on vacation and Patriacca believes his basement is also flooded, but the Fire Department has not been able to get inside the home or get in touch with the owner.
Patriacca said he hopes the town can provide some help.
“We will try to do something with the city,” he said. “They have got to fix this, or give us some compensation.”
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