Citizens Battle Leaf-Clogged Drains to Prevent Basement Flooding

Wild rain and wind-stripped leaves sent neighbors with shovels and rakes to street sides in several Swampscott spots Tuesday night.

They cleared leaves from roads and curbs and storm drains to relieve roadside pooling and prevent cellars from flooding and automobile accidents, they said.

Aaron Reames spent at least three hours raking and shoveling at Paradise Road by Franklin Avenue.

It was his second day in a row on drain duty.

Monday night about 9:30 he was doing the same thing under a utility pole in front of his house when the transformer above blew. The explosion and sparks scared the wits out of him, he said.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, water streamed from three directions into the low spot at Franklin and Paradise by the trauma center.

Aaron said he clears the road drains whenever it rains hard. So do a few of his neighbors, who are also young. 

He does it to help two elderly neighbors whose homes would flood first, he said, his shovel scraping the pavement as he ran the blade under a pile of wet leaves and scooped them.

His home on Paradise Road took a major hit during the October 2011 flooding. He lost cars, a motorcycle and his office, sustaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, he said.

He said it is irresponsible to have a state road regularly flood. Cars stall and hydroplane, he said.

The intersection is at a corner and some motorists travel at a good clip. He says a serious accident could take place there.

Two houses away on Franklin Avenue, Oleg Katsnelson raked leaves from a storm drain.

He has lived in his house seven years and the basement has flooded three or four times, he said.

The only time he sustained real damage was last October when he lost a motorcycle and a new car, a Camry, as well as furniture.

Also on Tuesday, a quarter mile away at Burrill Street and Paradise Road, a couple in rain slickers were doing the same thing, clearing rain-soaked leaves from drains.

The work paid dividends. As the rain slowed the pool collecting at Franklin and Paradise subsided.

But they worry about the next major storm, the next major flood, and want someone to take the lead to solve the problem.