A storm that hit Maine early Wednesday morning sent 4 feet of water flooding into the basement of a building along the Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor as the stream overflowed more than 30 feet into neighboring parking lots.
The water shorted out the boiler in the 1-35 Central St. building, owner Tim McClary said. The Kenduskeag Stream runs behind the building, which is home to Bagel Central, The Grind House, The Briar Patch and more.
A video from Bagel Central showed water rushing through the closed basement door. The water was pumped out Wednesday and dehumidifiers were running throughout the building Thursday, McClary said. Flood waters lifted and moved two gas tanks behind the restaurant, tipped two dumpsters and halfway filled the bottom level of a nearby parking garage.
There had been flooding and water in the basement of 1-35 Central St. before, but McClary was told by the previous owner it’s the worst it’s been in 22 years. Now those same downtown businesses are bracing for a second storm predicted to hit late Friday night and throughout Saturday, starting with snow before turning to rain, paired with high winds, per the National Weather Service. No flood warning has been issued but 1 to 2 inches of snow or sleet are expected to accumulate.
The high water during Wednesday’s storm cut off access to pedestrian bridges across the stream and left vehicles stranded in the flood. The Kenduskeag appeared to peak around 10:40 a.m. at 5 feet. The water started receding around 11:10 a.m., and decreased by about a foot-and-a-half in the first 15 minutes.
Gage height readings on the Penobscot River in Bangor reached just over 13 feet, considered moderate flood stage, at around 10:45 a.m. The stream’s gage height is measured near Broadway and Finson Road, and did not reach flooding levels, per the United States Geological Survey.
Despite its broken boiler, downtown bookstore The Briar Patch is still open normal hours, owner Gibran Graham said. There was no flooding into the merchandise storage area, so overall things “could’ve been worse,” he said.
Beyond the downtown area by the Kenduskeag Stream, flooding throughout Bangor was minimal, city spokesperson David Warren said. No roads were washed out and there was no significant damage. Slush blocked storm drains as the rain and flooding happened, and city crews cleared those throughout the day.
A large pine tree blew over on Kenduskeag Avenue, taking out wires, utility poles and power to part of the Little City neighborhood Wednesday morning. Power was restored to most of the area that day, with full restoration expected by the end of Thursday, according to Versant’s outage map.
The Grind House coffee shop had 4 to 6 inches of water in its basement, which didn’t change its daily operations, general manager Joseph Higgins said. But lots of dirt washed in with the water, so the staff has been cleaning, mopping and running a dehumidifier.
“With how warm it’s been this year, more rain would just be killer,” Higgins said. “We can’t really afford that.”
Higher and better retaining walls are needed along the Kenduskeag, Higgins said.
“Hopefully we can get some better infrastructure so something like this doesn’t happen again to our local businesses,” Higgins said.
The city is working to fix a deteriorating portion of the wall but there are no discussions about raising the wall height, Warren said. The deterioration is in the downtown parkways from Hammond Street to Central Street to Franklin Street.
The retaining walls have foundations of granite blocks with concrete walls that can handle water level fluctuations for the stream up to 12 to 14 feet deep, according to the city.
The wastewater treatment plant hit maximum capacity around 9 a.m., while the four combined sewer overflow tanks in the city were full by 9:45 a.m.
Sewage overflowed into a parking lot near the Kenduskeag Plaza on Wednesday until the water level receded and then drained back into the tank, Warren said. Since 2016, an overflow has only happened one or two times.
Six outfalls, which are pipes that go from sewers to the river and are licensed by the state, were active until 3:30 p.m., Warren said. They are designed to provide relief points when the sewer is overwhelmed and tanks are full. Two outfalls on the Kenduskeag could not be opened because of the high water.
“All that water yesterday had to go somewhere and the outfalls in combination with the storage tanks are essential in preventing water from flooding and washing out roadways, damaging private property and undermining critical infrastructure,” Warren said.
Grind House employees will be watching the weather and the stream to see what happens this weekend, but the coffee shop will be open, Higgins said.
“Prayer and sandbags” are how McClary plans to get through Saturday.
“I’m at the mercy of the weather and the tides,” he said.