Record Single-Day Rainfall, Flooding And Sewage Spills Through Raleigh-Durham Area
RALEIGH
The rain finally stopped falling and streams began to recede in the Triangle, but many low-lying areas remain flooded after a storm that dropped record amounts of rain over three days.
The heaviest rain came overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, overwhelming storm drains and sending creeks over their banks. Flooded roads forced detours and snarled traffic throughout the morning. Among the places forced to close for the day because of flooding were Crabtree Valley Mall and Wake County’s Vernon Malone College and Career Academy. While the rain tapered off by midday, large creeks were slow to retreat and rivers continued to rise as the water made its way downstream.
The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the Neuse, Tar, Cape Fear, Haw and Deep rivers. The Neuse had exceeded its flood stage of 15 feet at Smithfield early Tuesday and is expected to reach nearly 25 feet by Wednesday afternoon. At 23 feet, the river inundates Hospital and Buffalo roads and cuts off the town water treatment plant’s access to its reservoir. The river is expected to remain above flood stage until Friday night.
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The weather service says 6 to 9 inches of rain fell in the Triangle since the storm arrived Sunday. The official total at Raleigh-Durham International Airport was about 7.5 inches, more than would normally fall in a month. Monday was a record day for rainfall at RDU, at 4.51 inches, shattering the previous April 24 record of 1.55 inches in 1944 and breaking the record for most rain in a day in April – 3.37 inches on April 26, 1978.
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Floodwaters inundated sewage pipes and pump stations throughout the Triangle. The city of Durham reported two sewage spills, of an estimated 15,750 gallons on Infinity Road and 9,000 gallons on Sparger Road, both into unnamed tributaries of the Eno River. Smithfield reported a sewage spill at its pump station on U.S. 70 Business East. Crews set up a bypass pump and hauled 22 loads of waste water to another site, but the town still released 20,000 gallons of untreated waste water into Polecat Branch, which flows into the Neuse River. Franklin County reported two spills in Youngsville and Franklinton, totaling 39,000 gallons.
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