BEAUMONT, Texas — Store owners along 11th Street in Beaumont are speaking up about the impact that flooding is having on business after severe rainfall.
A burst of rain led to serious flooding on 11th Street and nearby areas on Wednesday afternoon. Some of the biggest issues were on 11th Street. At the worst, it looked like a river.
"We were impacted, a whole lot," assistant manager at Rent-A-Tire Sonnia Young said. "Our cars, we had to move our cars farther away, the parking lot was so full of water."
The rain didn't last long, but it came down fast and accumulated quickly in the roads and parking lots, forcing drivers to take alternate routes home.
"The entire road right here, people couldn't even drive down it, I had to turn and go against traffic just to try and make sure I made it through without my vehicle getting flooded," TBE advertising representative Cody Bishop said.
Beaumont and the area around 11th Street have become known for poor drainage, and it's something these businesses say needs to be addressed.
"It happens all the time,” Young said. “Every time it rains the parking lot is full of water. It messes up our business also because the customers can't get into the parking lot."
The city director of public work and technology services, Bart Batrkowiak , said they're aware of the issues between 11th and 21st Streets. DD6 doesn't have pumps to remove water.
Batrkowiak also said the city has applied for grant money to fund large scale drainage projects to fix the issues like Beaumont residents experienced Wednesday.
Beaumont residents say the drainage issues are nothing new. In fact, a study by Lockwood, Andrews and Newman that was presented to the city council last year showed Beaumont’s storm water system was "functionally deficient" in several locations.
With more rain expected this holiday weekend, business owners back on 11th Street are noticeably nervous.
12 News also reached to Beaumont Mayor Robin Mouton. She said she wasn't aware of any issues on Wednesday.
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