East St. Louis residents struggle in flooding aftermath, say city should do more

Residents and officials from the Department of Public Works in East St. Louis worked Wednesday to clean up and pump water out of the area after heavy rains caused severe flooding across Missouri and Illinois on Tuesday.

For decades parts of the Metro East have struggled with flooding from the Mississippi River and internal drainage systems. On Tuesday, dozens of vehicles were stranded and some people died as a result of flash flooding in the St. Louis region, prompting Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to declare a state of emergency.

Terry Barnes, a 58-year-old East St. Louis resident, has lived in her home on Belmont Avenue for 29 years. She said the residential area has struggled with severe flooding since 2015.

Despite the city's claims of fixing the sewer line in recent years, Barnes said she continues to deal with water intrusion as rising water levels on Tuesday caused significant damage to her basement. Her home sits in front of a sewer line, and on Wednesday she said she was unable to flush her toilet because the water levels were still too high.

She stood Wednesday afternoon on Belmont Avenue and pointed to a large pool of water that lingered from Tuesday's heavy rainfall outside her home at the corner of Belmont Avenue and N. 55th Street in East St. Louis. A few inches of water also sat in her backyard — a glaring water line could be seen along the brown fencing.

Barnes said as of Wednesday the city hadn't pumped the water from her street or yard, despite multiple requests for help. However, the East St. Louis Public Works Department was pumping water on Wednesday from the backyard of another resident, 44-year-old Stephen Moore, who lives nearby on 53rd Street.

Moore said he's spent a lot of money remodeling his house since he moved there in 2014, but now regrets it.

"I don't have a choice but to deal with it," Moore said Wednesday. "I don't have the money to move nowhere else right now." The water filled his basement on Tuesday, as well as his backyard.

Tony Collins, a supervisor with the city's Department of Public Works who operated a GX Honda water pump on Wednesday behind Moore's house, promised to return Thursday to remove the water from Barnes' area. Barnes said since Collins joined the department about six months ago, he is at least taking the time to check on her and others in the area.

Until recently, she's relied on herself and her family to remove water, she said.

"I woke up at 2:30 in the morning (Tuesday), because my husband was out of town, to check on the house and stuff like that, and then I looked out on the cameras and the water was up to the back door," Barnes said. "So I got in my car (and) called my brother. He (was) out in the rain making sure I have sandbags and plastic inside and out."

Barnes said another brother also brought over pipes and ran them from the inside of her house to her driveway to keep the water out of her house early Tuesday.

"I did get some (water) on the basement side, like in the laundry room and the bathroom downstairs, and I got another little daycare room with a speaker and water got into that. But he got the water out right away, so I had help."

Barnes expressed frustration with the city's lack of response and assistance in prior floods. In July, the Harding Ditch in East St. Louis overflowed — as it often does during heavy rains — causing the Parkside levee to break, city officials said. City leaders coordinated with the American Red Cross, the city, fire officials and others to rescue and assist residents.

Although levees have been built and improved over the years, East St. Louis still experiences frequent flooding from internal drainage, canals, creeks, and maintenance issues in the storm sewer system.

Barnes emphasized the need for city intervention because she's a tax-paying citizen who has lost thousands of dollars for her home-based daycare business due to the floods.

Public Works steps in

East St. Louis Public Works officials brought over a dozen cleanup kits to Barnes' area on Wednesday. The white buckets contained gloves and other cleaning supplies from the American Red Cross.

Collins said he planned to bring more kits to the area on Thursday, and also expected the Public Works Department to receive at least two more Honda water pumps — one of which he planned to utilize on Barnes' street Thursday.

"I've been here all my life," Collins said Wednesday. "I'm 61 and this stuff has been neglected for a very long time. This administration, at least, is trying to put forth (an effort). I asked for a (new) truck and they gave me a brand new one in 2024. What we do on that is we come out and we clean sewers. It's just that we're so far behind, this stuff probably hasn't been done in 30 years, some of it, and it's kind of bad. So we're moving in the right direction, but it's going to take some help and some finances."

Collins said a lot goes into cleaning out the sewers to ensure water doesn't overflow. He said the city has been cooperative with providing him the tools and equipment he needs, but it takes time for the items to arrive.

"You need sewer equipment," Collins said. "We got a brand new (service body) truck this year, but you still need backhoes. Then you have to clean the trenches and make sure you have all the different pumps. It's a whole lot of stuff that goes along with it. The equipment is not cheap. This (service body) truck that we just got cost $564,000."

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources in June agreed to provide nearly $2.6 million to East St. Louis to buy out 39 properties in the Mary Avenue and Terrace Drive areas near Harding Ditch, which have experienced repeated flooding and flood damage. For the first time, the project includes additional funds to assist homeowners who resided in the impacted structures up to $22,500 toward a new home.

The city plans to place deed restrictions on the properties after they are purchased and demolished to prohibit new structures from being built.

City leaders said the land will ultimately feature public parks and athletic fields.