With more storms possible Friday, city leaders call for caution and help with clearing storm drains
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Alfonzo Fields stood at the corner, calling one driver after another a "dummy" as they drove through an intersection that, technically, was closed.
Barriers were in place to keep people from driving through the intersection of W. Fond du Lac Avenue and W. Locust Street but many drivers chose to go around or in between them.
They navigated around four cars that were still stuck there from flash flooding Wednesday night, which caused a sewage overflow.
"You see that they're trying to fix this stuff, but you're still coming through," an exasperated Fields said. "It's all messed up. Why would you drive through? Let the people fix what they have to fix."
Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) crews were clearing some of the leaves and trash that coated the street following the flood.
With more storms possible Friday, several city leaders held a press conference along the Milwaukee River downtown.
They called for drivers to use common sense and give DPW crews some space.
"We've had cars driving down, excessively, splashing into us, just not getting out of the way," Jerrel Kruschke, Milwaukee's DPW commissioner, said. "They created dangerous situations for us."
Officials hammered home a message meant to discourage people from entering floodwaters. Kruschke said with the ground very saturated from a historically wet first half of April, any heavy rain Friday could trigger another round of flash floods.
"Don't drive your vehicles through them. Don't walk through flooded areas," Asst. Fire Chief Schuyler Belott said. "You may have manhole covers, sewer grate covers that got pushed up from the pressure of water that leave a hole for people to fall into."
Belott said the fire department had taken 115 calls this week related to flooding and storm damage. Many of those calls were for help getting drivers stranded in floodwaters to safety.
Kruschke said the DPW's forestry division had taken about 200 calls for tree-related damage from storms.
The issues have changed from one day to another. Wind damage was the big issue Monday night into Tuesday. On Wednesday, flash floods were a major concerns. Kruschke said he was most worried about another round of high winds toppling trees that are sitting on very saturated ground.
To prevent more flooding, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said people can play an important part by simply not littering.
Johnson and Kruschke said trash covering storm drains was an even bigger concern than leaves.
"It doesn't just disappear when you throw something out the window," Johnson said. "It gets caught somewhere, and so, we would encourage people not to do that."
City leaders encouraged people to "adopt a drain" and help ensure the drains near their home are clear.
Pam Palmer was already heeding the call. She was out on her block along N. Humboldt Blvd. in the Riverwest neighborhood Thursday with a small shovel. With one scoop after another, she piled leaves and debris several feet away from nearby storm drains.
"It was really bad when they were covering the grates," Palmer noted. "Yes, it was all over, and as soon as I started to rake, the water started to go down."
Palmer said clearing drains has become something she just does after living in the neighborhood for 17 years and seeing the street flood in the past.
"Sometimes, we have to do our part," she said. "The city can't do it all."