By Marcella Shandor —
@TheCardinalNews
Flooding on campus has long been a nuisance to students on and off campus. In September the university has sent four Rave Alert notifications to students about flooding.
Heavy rains on Sept. 8 put parts of campus underwater and put a damper on the U of L versus Indiana State football game. Fortunately, there has not been a situation like Belknap’s flooding of August 2009 which caused significant damage to the campus and surrounding areas.
Senior Lauren Franck said her off-campus basement flooded which caused more stress on top of her studies.
“I walk to and from campus so when it rains I have to make sure I wear appropriate clothing. I’m used to the unpredictable weather, so I always have an umbrella in my backpack. But recently my boyfriend has been driving me to class when he can, so I don’t have to be out in it,” Franck said.
“Since I’m used to walking, and where I walk aren’t areas that flood, my path tends to stay cleared.”
Franck said she did have to miss out on some activities like the second day of Bourbon and Beyond, but she hasn’t missed any classes due to the flooding.
Aaron Boggs, Director of Buildings and Grounds at U of L, leads the university’s fight against floods.
“Flooding generally occurs at all railroad underpasses, the Brook St. corridor from Eastern Parkway to the Student Activities Center and on Floyd from the railroad tracks to Eastern Parkway. However, this is not an all-inclusive list of areas with the potential to flood,” Boggs said.
Drain grates around campus help with some of the water. The University works with the Metropolitan Sewer District to mitigate flooding and have made great strides to divert storm-water from the combined sewers.
“When the university floods, there is no number of pumps or equipment that will keep the water from rising. The city’s infrastructure gets overwhelmed and water starts to back up into the streets,” Boggs said.
Senior Drew Moegling lives near campus at the Bellamy, but sometimes chooses to drive to campus.
“It hasn’t affected it significantly. I began driving and paying to park occasionally simply to avoid the rain and the issues it causes,” Moegling said.
“One thing with road closures is I’ve had to climb onto a train that wasn’t moving and climb through it simply to get to class because of where I live.”
*The Cardinal advises that you do not climb through train cars, moving or not.*
“On campus the rain sucks. The walkways on campus, specifically near the Interfaith Center suck in the rain. There’s standing water constantly when it rains,” Moegling said.
The best way to ensure safety during flooding is to sign up for Rave alerts and avoid flooded roads and areas.
File Photo / The Louisville Cardinal
