Going into this storm much of the concern was on the wind, but now it's moved to the rain and rising waters around Anchorage.
Westchester Lagoon had waters rise so high that the Public Works Department had to take action and open a water by pass syetem, also known as a flood gate.
"We started seeing blockage around Arctic and at that time we came here and decided to open this and give a little relief,” said Public Works Department General Foreman Paul VanLandingham.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water are rushing through the flood gates. It’s helping to slowly lower the high water level at the lagoon. Upstream, at Chester Creek, the solution wasn't as easy. Uprooted and fallen trees have slowed the flow of water.
Tammy Sterrett grew up with the Chester Creek in her backyard and said she cannot remember seeing the water getting this high but knew a big storm would cause it to rise like it has.
"They've been telling us we can't cut the cottonwoods down because they're really important for creek habitat,” said Sterrett. “But our concern was always that the trees would fall over and that's what happened. It's causing, as you can see, major damage."
The problem in East Anchorage isn't limited to backyards. Neighbors say street water usually drains into the creek, but now it has nowhere to go.
In Midtown, motorists ran into a similar problem. The corner of A Street and36th Avenue had knee deep water, flooding the street and catching drivers off guard. Police say one motorist got stuck earlier in the day but they were able to push the vehicle out using a squad car.
Police say public works told them all storm drains are completely open but many are draining slowly because they’re backed up.
Anchorage Public Works says they will continue to monitor road crossings near bodies of water.
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