MARISSA, Ill. – A small Illinois village keeps flooding, and no one seems to know why.
Mayor of Marissa Chad Easton and some of the residents say the area started flooding about five years ago during heavy rain events.
Sarah Adams is a two-time cancer survivor, and her husband is a Navy veteran. The couple’s home has flooded four times in the last five years.
“I’ve put more money in replacing flooring than I paid for my house,” Adams said.
They haven’t replaced the flooring from the most recent flood that happened July 5.
“It all hits one drain, one culvert. It can’t all go through like that,” Adams said.
Mayor Easton said all the village’s water flows are clear and there are no obstructions.
“It is a mystery,” Easton said. “This is one of the biggest things that I’d ever have to do in my life is try to figure out a solution to a problem where there isn’t a phone I can pick up and say, ‘Hey, give me the solution.’”
When it rains, water flows down the street to the culvert, but the culvert is not keeping up. Streets flood; and so does Adams’ home on East Drive. Other parts of the village take on water as well.
“After all of these rain events, within 45 minutes, everything is passable. There’s no standing water anywhere,” Easton said.
In 2020, an engineering specialist found limited restriction in water flow, but no evidence of beaver dams or areas exhibiting significant flow restrictions.
The village is looking at nearby land to put in a retention pond, an area where excess water can flow. That could cost nearly $1.3 million.
Easton said more than 50% of the village’s homes have been affected by flooding in the last five years.
“Whether it be landscaping, whether it be homes flooding, loss of flooring, of valuables inside their home,” he said.
The mayor said there’s been no major construction in the area that would affect water flow.
Across town, Christy Stoddard knows firsthand how quickly the culverts can lose to rising water.
“People who live around here, we know. It kind of builds up and builds up,” Stoddard said. “Once it busts, it’s fast. It goes very quickly.”
Two years ago, Stoddard risked her own life to rescue a 13-year-old boy who got sucked into a culvert. The boy remarkably survived.
National Weather Service data shows more than six inches of rain fell in less than 48 hours when the boy got sucked in the culvert.
During last month’s flash flood, the same area filled with nearly three inches of water in three hours.
“You can’t see any of this [grass]. When the water is that high, you can’t tell this [culvert] is here. So, I think, even if they can put some tall signage that says beware or something to draw attention to it,” Stoddard said.
Back at Adams’ house, she says she can’t even get flood insurance because she’s not technically in a flood zone.
“I take medicine every day. One medicine cost $500 a month, but I have insurance to pay for that. I don’t have insurance to pay for this,” she said.
Adams said if the village wants to buy her out of her house, she’ll do it. In the meantime, she fears what will happen when it rains again.
“My husband shouldn’t have to go through this. He served our country. He fought so we could have better for this,” Adams said.
Calls to St. Clair County officials and emails to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s office were not returned.