Record Moisture Threatens Basements Lewiston City Attorney Sorts Out Rights Of Homeowners Under Siege From Water

Lois Enneking is having holes cut in her basement floor to let the water out.

It has been decades since her neighborhood experienced the kind of moisture in the ground which is flooding out her basement and others.

At first, the basement in her Lewiston Orchards home just seemed a little damp around the edges.

“I found all the old towels, and old underwear, everything I could and put it around down there. But that was hopeless. It was like a fish pond down there.”

Holes were cut in the concrete floor, revealing big puddles underneath, she said. Channels were cut into the earth and will be filled with gravel to keep the water flowing, hopefully away from the house.

The homes across the street are in the same boat.

Right after she and her husband, Vincent, moved into the house 25 years ago, they were told the basement had flooded once before.

“We didn’t have any problems so we didn’t get excited about it,” she said.

That is because the weather has not happened this way for 30 years, said Richard Marlatt, Lewiston transportation engineering director.

The last time, the weather cycles were like this winter: rain, followed by heavy snow, then more rain.

A storm water system, which is what some residents want, would never intercept groundwater because the ditch is only a couple of feet deep, Marlatt said.

The city attorney has been asked to sort out the residents’ rights.

Marlatt would like to create a database to determine whether there is a pattern to the flooding.