# Wanna Place a Bet?



## PixelRabbit (Apr 12, 2014)

Ok, so this might get interesting....
We live on a flood plain, yeah yeah I know, guaranteed to flood etc lol I get it, this is inevitable :er: but 99.9% of the time living here is awesome, this is one of those off times and we will see how it pans out lol

Below is a google map shot of our property, what looks like a dry riverbed on the right side of the property is now full of water to the edge of the greenhouse and garden behind the house.  The field across the road to the NW is under water and it is about 3 ft away from coming up over our driveway .  The ground is saturated to the point that the drains are running super slow and the sump is running a lot.

Roads are closing up and down river already.

This all from the snowmelt, if it was just that we would be fine...
BUT
It's supposed to rain, a LOT over the next few days, they are already predicting evacuations.  We are as prepared as we can be, we have extra pumps at the ready, vehicles moved etc... 

Wanna make bets on how close the river and floodplain will get? Will they meet?  When?  How much water will we end up with in the basement? When my mood will go from anticipation to ah crap? lol


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## BrickHouse (Apr 12, 2014)

Better get to sandbagging! Good luck, hope everything turns out ok!


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## runnah (Apr 12, 2014)

What a nice compound!

Yeah you are screwed, build an arc.


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## Ron Evers (Apr 12, 2014)

Wish you luck.

At our first house we had pike swimming in the back yard in one spring melt.  Now we live high on a hill.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 12, 2014)

Lol thanks guys 

Ron, ironically the fellow we bought it from lives up on a hill now too.... Hmmmm lol


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## Woodsman (Apr 12, 2014)

I'm on a lake but up the hill looking down on it.  The water is already higher than normal for summer and the snow is just starting to melt.  Flood warnings out here for the coming rain too.  The hill can be a bear as I get older but times like this I am glad I am up on it.


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## robbins.photo (Apr 12, 2014)

Ok, well before I can put any actually money down on this I have to check with my financial adviser, Manny and see what he thinks about this as a potential investment.



20140412 520 by robbins.photo, on Flickr

Umm... hmm.. I think I'm going to have to pass.


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## Derrel (Apr 12, 2014)

Bad, bad omen on this end...I saw a small, deceased, wild cottontail bunny carcass on Sunnyside Road this AM on the way to the grocery store, laying right on the roadbed, right by a storm drain. NOT kidding...it was a most unusual sight...I'm no tea leaf-reading soothsayer, but I can "read" the really glaring, simple signs...I'm worried for you guys...I saw Mr. Rabbit's picture on his FB page, with the pumps in buckets, awaiting that bad,bad water that might come...hope it recedes and does not come up over the banks...


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## AlanKlein (Apr 12, 2014)

Here's link to FEMA Flood Insurance maps.  You put in your address with zip code is what worked for my address.  No requirement for state or town.  Didn't the bank check this out before they gave you a mortgage?  Usually if you're in a flood plain, they'll require flood insurane when they give you a mortgage.  Do you have flood insurance?
https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/sto...eView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

Hopefully it won't rain.  Also check FEMA out for future insurance.

Good luck.


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## snowbear (Apr 12, 2014)

Alan - she's in Ontario, so I doubt US FEMA will help much.  

Bunny - got a boat?


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 13, 2014)

Morning update, round 1 of rain overnight, river came up about 6 inches, pond/swamp creeped a bit but the basement ....

We have about an inch if water....
I need coffee.


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## IronMaskDuval (Apr 13, 2014)

PixelRabbit said:


> Morning update, round 1 of rain overnight, river came up about 6 inches, pond/swamp creeped a bit but the basement ....
> 
> We have about an inch if water....
> I need coffee.



My in-laws have two creeks running behind their home, and it has been raining so much that the banks have widen because the land would get so saturated, it falls off.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 13, 2014)

IronMaskDuval said:


> My in-laws have two creeks running behind their home, and it has been raining so much that the banks have widen because the land would get so saturated, it falls off.



Where about?  Probably what is headed for us today, we have seen trees float by, BIG trees so its definitely eroding the banks here (Saugeen river)


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## IronMaskDuval (Apr 13, 2014)

We're down in the south eastern US, in a place called Jawja, spelled Georgia. They have a barn, and it's been shin deep in water for days. They just bought this house late last year, and when you buy with cash here, you have no bank to go through and scream that you're living in a flood zone. For some reason, it wasn't declared a flood zone until they moved in, and the creek flooded.


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## snowbear (Apr 13, 2014)

And, of course, the water level can continue to rise well after the rain stops (depending on how far down-stream you are).

Be safe.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 13, 2014)

Well, since this morning the sump hasn't turned off and we are holding at about an inch in the basement, we are also pumping out the outside basement stairwell at a rate of about 8in/hr.

The rain is just starting.

We went for a walk and I took some video, honestly I'm amazed, for now it's going around us.


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## bribrius (Apr 13, 2014)

this thread is nothing with pics

and...

you got a canoe right?


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 14, 2014)

True and no lol
Well, we are just about holding here, keeping just ahead of the water rising in the basement still, more rain today then snow/freezing rain/ice pellets later this afternoon when the temperature plummets from +20 yesterday to -4 this afternoon, argh!

Here are a couple from yesterday and I'm waiting for a video to upload taken from the bridge.

As of this morning only the top wrung of the fence is above water and we are about another foot up the bank from the stick.  The field across the river is starting to have standing water in it.


Untitled by Judi Smelko, on Flickr


The stairwell that keeps filling (you can see the high water mark from the first day), This morning we were back up to the bottom of the door, the night shift dropped the ball lol.  The hose that is coming out of the door frame is from the sump inside so it isn't pumping into the septic system.


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## manaheim (Apr 14, 2014)

oh my.  You need to build one of those dutch houses that floats.  Good luck.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 14, 2014)

Now there's an idea!

I just went for a wander, there are two currents in the pond/floodplain, one down river and... One up river, there are two towns down river that are flooding, Walkerton and paisley. 

Videos to come....


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## runnah (Apr 14, 2014)

Amazon.com: Ikelite 6870.60 Underwater Camera Housing for Canon 60D DSLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

I think we all can chip in for this.


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## Rick58 (Apr 14, 2014)

I ordered you one of these on eBay. It's coming from Hong Kong and should be there in 4 to 6 weeks

Seriously, I hope the best for you folks.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 14, 2014)

Lmao!! You guys are awesome  kinda needed a bunny smile  thanks!


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## The_Traveler (Apr 14, 2014)

If you will excuse a quote from an American 

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their (country) *basement*; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman"


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 14, 2014)

Ok videos finally uploaded.  The first one is taken standing where it says "concession 4" on the map, at about 25 seconds that treeline is the edge of our property, the water goes into about 20ft from the driveway (narrow cut out of the cedars).

The second is the field across the road with a nice new waterfall into the river!  Where you see the water draining in the distant field is where it is overflowing into the pond area on our property.  All culverts are at maximum capacity but running well.  It seems we are pretty darn safe where we are judging by how it is draining around the house.  Other than pumping at a rate of 5gal/minute out of the basement for 48 hours now....that a LOT of groundwater rising from below!!


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## The_Traveler (Apr 14, 2014)

On the positive side, have you considered how much more convenient it is to go fishing?
(I do admit that fishing isn't as good during flood times but one has to look at the upside.)


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## tirediron (Apr 14, 2014)

The_Traveler said:


> On the positive side, have you considered how much more convenient it is to go fishing?
> (I do admit that fishing isn't as good during flood times but one has to look at the upside.)


Never mind the fishing, think of all the great areobic exercise one could get rowing around the south 40!


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## astroNikon (Apr 14, 2014)

Pixel, I feel your pain.

I don't have the problems you do but my house is at the bottom of a small hill (residential), and next to a school.  Unfortunately the school property angles towards my yard.  Everything runs downhill through my backyard.
Last year I started my work on lowering my backyard, by hand.  Yup, with a shovel and wheelbarrow.  I had to lower the ground next to the garage 8 inches to keep the garage from flooding every time it rained - the ground was higher than the garage's concrete slab.  Now the back and other side this year gets worked on.  Right now with the spring thaw everything is a gooey mess.

Luckily the rains from yesterday were a bit north of us so we didn't get anythnig - the same storm that you got.

I wouldn't mind living UP the road a bit myself.


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## AlanKlein (Apr 14, 2014)

> Alan - she's in Ontario, so I doubt US FEMA will help much. ;-)



Sorry.  I didn't realize that.  Doesn't Canada have anything similar?   Also, don't their mortgage rules also include insurance requirements for flood areas?


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## Ron Evers (Apr 14, 2014)

AlanKlein said:


> > Alan - she's in Ontario, so I doubt US FEMA will help much. ;-)
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry.  I didn't realize that.  Doesn't Canada have anything similar?   Also, don't their mortgage rules also include insurance requirements for flood areas?




 No insurance company in Canada offers flood insurance. Flooding is considered an Act of God.  

I wonder which god is responsible.


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## manaheim (Apr 14, 2014)

Two words... house boat.

Floating Homes

Pretty interesting, actually.

Anyway, that aside... I'm watching with interest and hoping for you.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 15, 2014)

Ha Lew John and Bunny! Both sound like solid plans!  It's amazing the extra wildlife that is around with all of the standing water!

Astro, this is only our 3rd year here, we had no clue what would happen on the property when the river crested, we are pleasantly surprised that it appears to go around us, an island in the stream, there are three forks the river splits into here as the floodplain and we are between two, PHEW!

Alan, yeah we have as much insurance coverage as we can have and flood isn't included.  We knew what we were getting into, the old owner was very up front and the basement is set up so that we can have about 2 ft down there before we really need to start worrying about anything inside, there has been a house on this spot for about 40 years now so I think we will make it as long as we keep pumping!!

So morning update, it snowed overnight, there is about 2 inches on the ground and I'm kinda thinking that is a good thing, at least it is sitting on top of the ground instead of adding to the saturation right away lol.  
The road on the other side of the bridge is closed, the 3rd fork the river takes has taken over the road over there, all towns down river are having issues with closed streets and flooding.
We did some math and we are up to 21,600 gallons (give or take a few) pumped out and no sign of slowing down yet... I was up until 3:30am keeping watch, back up at 6:30 with Mr Rabbit because the cat decided that if Mr Rabbit is up so shall Mrs Rabbit be, this is going to be a long day!


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## runnah (Apr 15, 2014)

Photos from Rabbit's compound this morning.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 15, 2014)

Damn when were you at the end of the driveway?  And didn't even come in for a coffee!


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## runnah (Apr 15, 2014)

PixelRabbit said:


> Damn when were you at the end of the driveway?  And didn't even come in for a coffee!



I would have but I heard your coffee was pretty watery.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 15, 2014)

runnah said:


> I would have but I heard your coffee was pretty watery.



Gasp! Blasphemy! Coffee is a sacred commodity and its strength and integrity are passionately protected!


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## manaheim (Apr 15, 2014)

just keep swimming... just keep swimming...


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## minicoop1985 (Apr 16, 2014)

Egads... Oh the joys.

I know your pain in a different way. Every time the water table gets a bit on the high side, I end up with water in my basement. The last time it happened, the sewer backed up, so I had to unclog it while standing in 8" of water while turds of various sizes floated past. I need a new house... I don't even live NEAR a flood plain. My basement just sucks that much.


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## minicoop1985 (Apr 16, 2014)

Ron Evers said:


> AlanKlein said:
> 
> 
> > > Alan - she's in Ontario, so I doubt US FEMA will help much. ;-)
> ...


Probably Neptune, I'd imagine.


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## PixelRabbit (Apr 17, 2014)

Ouch Mini!  Luckily our basement worked just like it should have other than having to change out the sump so it wasn't pumping into the septic system, the weeping bed was underwater lol  

So as of yesterday afternoon after a whole bunch of pushing water towards the sump hole we no longer are pumping!  YAY!!!
The river is receding and is back in it's banks, the pond is getting there.  

As a rough estimate we pumped 300gal/min for about 84 hours, that is 25,200 gallons of water... wow...  Going to take bets on that number next time around!
I'm a tired bunny, I don't care who you are, seeing water POURING out from under your house and a waterfall in the basement is quite disconcerting!


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