Water Floods Central SF Home

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Homeowners across southeastern KELOLAND are trying to clean up what Mother Nature poured on top of them overnight.  Many people have water in their basements; it's all too familiar for a homeowner pumping out two and a half feet of water.

“I don't even know where to begin, I mean, I'm just throwing my hands up now,” Jerry Hood said.

It's a devastating sight for Hood and his family.  He says water is coming in so fast his sump pump is struggling to keep up.

“You can put your hand on the actually drain, floor drain, you can feel pressure coming up.  It's above the toilet in here now,” Hood said.

Hood is even more upset because this is the fourth time in eight years that water has flooded their basement. It happened three times at their previous home.  When he moved, he thought dealing with flood waters was over but he was wrong.

“It's a mess,” Hood said.

To make matters worse, they've spent at least $80,000 remodeling.

“We added bathrooms, put a wet bar in.  You can see it's above the toilet.  There's sewege coming through the toilet,” Hood said.

Despite all that, Hood is doing everything he can to save what's important to them.

Hood says furniture can be replaced, but what's heartbreaking are the photos that were damaged when the waters flooded in, including one of what happened last time water flooded their remodeled basement. 

Given his past experiences, Hood says he knows the drill.

“We'll be the last ones to be able to clean this up because it's going to be sitting down here,” Hood said.

Hood says before moving into their home on 30th Street near McKennan Park, they asked the owner if she had flooding problems. She said in the 60 years she lived there, she's never seen a drop of water in the basement.