Kirkland, Kenmore work together to resolve neighborhood flooding issue

With the record-setting rain the Puget Sound region has received this year, it’s no surprise that flooding is an issue in many areas.

However, in one neighborhood that straddles the boundary between Kirkland and Kenmore, an intersection has turned into a pond, with one resident taking out a small boat on the street and a duck taking a swim down the road.

Kent Jones, a Kenmore resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said the area has been chronically flood prone, but it has been worse in the last few months with the immense amount of rain.

“It’s happened off and on, but never like this,” Jones said Friday morning, citing concern about the water spreading into people’s homes.

The area of concern is near the intersection of Northeast 145th Street and 75th Avenue Northeast. The City of Kirkland owns the affected roadway, but the City of Kenmore is responsible for the storm water system there.

Jenny Gaus, surface water engineer with the City of Kirkland, said the “puddle” was caused by a plugged private drainage line and staff from both cities were working together to determine if it’s an issue for one of the cities, the property owners or some combination thereof.

“We’re trying to work as a team to fix this situation,” Gaus said midday Friday.

On Friday afternoon, City of Kenmore surface water manager Richard Sawyer said solving the issue was the homeowner’s responsibility, and a truck had been dispatched to cut the plugged private drainage line to alleviate the buildup of water.

Sawyer added that the homeowners of the property in question are new to the neighborhood and weren’t aware of the drainage issue.