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Text Box: STORM WATER DAMAGE BESETS TOWN RESIDENCES Storm water flooding their homes was reported by a number of residents after several days of incessant downpour at the end of June. Clerk/treasurer Cathie Polak sent an email message to the 57 or so residents who have signed up for the town address list asking about flooded basements or other storm damage because Montgomery County was attempting to ascertain if it qualified for disaster status through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. On lower Princeton Ave. Alexis Feringa reported that their living room, sunroom and laundry room were all leaking to a degree never experienced before. Further down the street, Jo Anne Murray wrote that their front basement was leaking heavily and the carpet had to be discarded. She doesn’t plan to replace it until the old original stone foundation is waterproofed. During one massive deluge, every single nail in their eight-year-old shingle roof leaked, something she had never seen in her 32 years as an architect. Debbie Lange and Peter Somerville reported their entire Wellesley Circle basement had flooded, up to a couple of inches at the highest point. It was caused by a sump pump that didn’t kick in. “The wall-to-wall carpeting became a giant sponge,” they wrote. They vacuumed out the water with a wet-

Text Box: COULD BLOCKED DRAINS HAVE CAUSED FLOODING? Town ASKs By Jerry Bodlander Some town residents wonder whether blocked drains or other problems are to blame for the heavy flooding many suffered in their homes during last month's torrential rains. About a half-dozen resident voiced their concerns at the last town council meeting Julie MacFarland of Princeton Avenue told council members it took only ten minutes for her basement to be filled with 36 to 42 inches of water. She said she and her husband had a river in their backyard because of an unknown obstruction that prevented the water from flowing naturally, forcing it into the basement through an exterior door. Other town residents who suffered damage said it appeared the rainwater had nowhere to go. They questioned council members about the drain at Oxford and University that was blocked. They also wondered whether some of the drains that serve the town might be blocked somewhere underground. Town Clerk Cathie Polak said about half of the homes on the town's e-mail list responded to an e-mail asking about damage. She said most of the damage was wet or flooded basements. Phyllis Fordham said the town needs to improve its streets to reduce the flooding and said many of her neighbors agree. She noted the town has extra money and said she is amazed the town isn't spending what is necessary on its own