WATERVILLE, Minn. — More than a week after the community of Waterville shattered it's previous highwater mark by more than two feet, the level of flooding throughout town is still higher than anything anyone has ever seen.
"We were told this house would never flood," said Amanda Sheridan, with a laugh.
Sheridan and her husband never worried about flooding when they moved into their home on North First St a couple years ago because it sat several inches above the 100 year floodplain.
That sense of safety was washed away after several days of torrential rain overwhelmed everything.
"We had sandbags stacked several feet high, but by Saturday it was like, evacuate the house," Sheridan said. "Then for four days we couldn't get to the house because the flood waters were over the street completely. Then we came back and we started canoeing."
With about four inches of water throughout their bottom floor, she knew they were luckier than many of their neighbors, but still overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead.
"Everything is rotten," Sheridan said. "It smells bad and we got all the smelly carpet out but the mold is growing and it still... you smell like a fish in here or even worse."
According to Le Sueur County, flood damage to public infrastructure alone is currently estimated to be about $3 million. That includes about $2 million in damage to infrastructure in Waterville.
That number is sure to grow, since standing water still covers many of the town's streets. Meanwhile, estimates of private property damage are still just beginning to come in.
"We're up to 130 houses affected some way, whether it's destroyed, slightly affected, minor damage or major damage," said Tammy Stewig, director of Emergency Management for LeSueur County. "But with the water where it is, not all our residents have even been able to get to their homes to even assess their damages."
As the water continues to recede, the county has set up a debris drop-off site, staffed with volunteers and county employees who are doing their best to speed clean up and mitigate environmental hazards.
"They had couches come in full of mold already," Stewig said. "So we're just taking the precautions of wash your hands, wear not only work gloves, but they have latex gloves under or over their gloves."
For more information on the debris drop-off hours, and how to help the Waterville community in various ways, click here.
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