Severe storms that came through the D.C. region Monday dumped a significant amount of rain on Alexandria, Virginia, which led to flooding in the city.
It was nothing new for people who lived and worked there, however.
“This is crazy,” said Teresa Keefer, owner of the bar and grill “Northside 10,” near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and East Glebe Road in Alexandria.
That spot floods every time there is substantial rainfall, Keefer said.
“This has been going on for six years every summer,” Keefer said. “When it hits, our business is just stopped.”
After Monday’s storms, the roads outside Keefer’s business were flooded with high standing water. Some of the water, Keefer said, started coming through the bottom of her front door. Her team had to move it back using a squeegee.
“The rain hits, and it’s just like that,” Keefer said, snapping her finger. “It happens so fast.”
In an interview with WTOP Tuesday, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson called the storm a “significant rain event.”
“What normally kills us is not the totals — it’s the intensity,” Wilson said, noting that more than an inch of rain fell in a short period of time.
“That’s a challenge for us,” Wilson said.
While flooding has been an ongoing issue for Keefer for several years, she said she recently received a letter from the city telling her that crews would head out to her neighborhood to survey the problem.
“I don’t really know what that entails, but I can only hope that they find the issue and fix it,” Keefer said.
Wilson said the city has paid attention and is in the process of responding.
“We have some of those areas that have been flooding for 40 or 50 years,” Wilson said. “Some are more recent.”
He said the city is investing several hundred million dollars in sewer infrastructure projects in the coming years that should help limit inland flooding.
“Those are very big projects that are in varying levels of completion, and they are dealing with those areas,” Wilson said.
