GRANITE CITY – Granite City was hit the hardest in the immediate area Tuesday morning with 8-8.5 inches of rainfall during the massive amount of thunderstorms that belted the area.
Granite City had a similar rain event in 2019 when 9 inches of rain was dumped and it sparked flash flooding all around that area. More than 1,000 homes were left with flooded yards and basements and some homeless.
Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson and his staff have been busy since he was elected to try to shore up the problems the city has had for years with flooding. Mayor Parkinson made these statements today: “I have spent the morning with my team looking at trouble spots and talking with residents about this morning’s regional flash flooding. The City focused last year on flooding mitigation by aggressively cleaning out ditches, upgrading/installing pumps, and authorizing approximately $8 million in infrastructure projects (shown below).
“This morning’s event gave me an opportunity to monitor how our improvements are performing and also help us identify and prioritize other areas. No drainage system is full proof with that much rain. For the most part, the major areas, neighborhoods, and thoroughfares drained quicker than in years past. I know there is always room for improvement.
“I am working with Illinois American Water to continue to assess how all the infrastructure improvements are working to help our community deal with these unavoidable heavy rains.”
Mayor Parkinson’s overall assessment today is that the infrastructure improvements made so far are paying off. He said he felt the flash flooding this time around was not as bad as in 2019 because of the improvements.
“Some of the improvements are finished and we are still working on some others,” he said. “We have been here a year and a quarter and focused on infrastructure improvements. The thing that people don’t see is all the construction we have done repairing pipes. We had a lot of flooding west of Granite today. 20th Street was still flooded. That is an industrial area and we do have that scheduled to begin work next year to fix some of the bigger issues.
“Yale Drive had a lot of water today and 12th and 14th Street also had a lot of standing water. From what I saw today, it was not as bad in 2019 when we had massive amounts of people out of their homes. We don’t yet have a permanent fix, but for most the water didn’t get up to their house, only their sidewalks and yards. We made a big effort this morning to bring in extra pumps in low-lying areas.”
Mayor Parkinson said below is a map of the flooding mitigation infrastructure projects that we are completing through 2026.
“I believe we have a good handle on the problem areas,” he said. “However, if you would like to report your experience in a neighborhood or intersection please notify your Alderman, my office at (618) 452-6214.
