Local Flooding Survey Results
City of Englewood
COMMON FLOOD ISSUES -
SURVEY RESULTS
Through the execution and analysis of a public survey of over 4,000 people (via letters, emails, and postcards, with 55 responses) and through site visits to over 500 individual homes, the Calibre team developed a list of the most commonly noted flood-related issues. We cataloged over 400 citizen photos, mapped more than 50 flooding locations, hosted a public meeting to discuss floodproofing and risks, and contacted nearly 45 individual citizens to discuss risks.
The main flood concerns identified by the survey and site walks are summarized by the interactive Google Map at right.
The lists below describe the types of flooding and flood concerns identified by the surveys and site walks, as well as other noted flood-related discussion drawn from the surveys and interaction with citizens.
FOUNDATION FLOODING
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Water seeped into basement through foundation
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Foundational settling
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From the ground up seepage
Specific Flood Concerns
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Flooding in the street, high above curb and into our lawn
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Shallow water in the yard but not reaching the building
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Flood waters rushing down streets
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Porch flooding
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Damage to landscaping
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Damage to cars on sidewalk
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Water pooled around house
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Sinkhole in yard
YARD/STREET FLOODING
INTERACTIVE MAP: REPORTED FLOODING & RELATED PROBLEMS
This interactive map shows key locations of flooding as determined by modeling, citizen input, and City records. It also includes images, comments about flooding, basin boundaries, and other relevant information. This map can be used to see how reported flooding relates to the Areas of Probable Flooding in the 100-Year Event and to see where different citizens have been reporting flooding throughout the basin areas.
The images below were provided by citizens of Englewood and/or the City of Englewood in response to the survey discussed herein. Credits can be found at the bottom of this page.

Resident FLOOD CONTROL
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Raised dirt level and elevation
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Egress windows
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Waterproofing windows
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Raised shelving
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Considering retaining walls
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Driveway redesign
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Corrected landscaping
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Underground sump pumps
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Sandbags
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Soil around house, berming
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Raised walks
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Soil and rocks
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Add new drains
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Expression of concern that individual flood control implementation may make flooding worse for neighbors
BASEMENT FLOODING
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Water entering through windows, vents, doors, other openings
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Water against basement windows
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Water rushing into living space
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Water entering through egress windows
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Houses with lower grade elevation than neighbors are flooded
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Up to 8 feet of water
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Water pooling up to 8” in basements
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Damage to baseboards, carpets, walls, furniture, etc.
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Some homes do not have basements, so main rooms flood
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Flooding via stairwell into basement
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Flooding into crawl spaces
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Hail broke basement windows and caused flooding
STORM INFRASTRUCTURE
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Frequently clogged inlets
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Insufficient stormwater capacity in pipes causing surging at inlets/outlets
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Rotolo Park overflows
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Barde Park overflows, storm grate insufficient
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Former ditch still fills with water and floods homes
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Failures at overpasses at Oxford and Dartmouth
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Roadways dip, causing pooling
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Lack of stormwater infrastructure at cul-de-sacs and ends of neighborhoods
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General lack of drainage inlets and undersized piping



FLOOD FREQUENCY
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Every other year, 2-3 years
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Floods increasing over the last decade
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Concern that new homes and development/redevelopment will increase flooding
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Floods every time it rains
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Concern that individual flood control implementation may make flooding worse for neighbors
ALLEY BLOCKAGE
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Trash cans
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Foliage
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Blocked storm inlets
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Code says alley should be kept clear
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Fence obstacles
GARAGE FLOODING
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Garage settling
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Flood water damaging garage door sensors, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.

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Washington Street between Yale and Amherst
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4100 block of S Broadway
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Alley between 4100 and 4200 S Broadway
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Alleys at S Ogden going north from E Cornell (2900-3000)
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2980 S Ogden (illegal wall)
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Infrastructure under S Ogden
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Rotolo Park
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Radcliff Avenue from Rotolo Park to cul-de-sac
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4400 Block of S Huron
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Oxford and Santa Fe
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Dartmouth and Santa Fe
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Barde Park/Charles Hay School
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Alley south of Tufts between Lincoln St and S Broadway
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Corners at Mansfield and Inca
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4000 block of Jason Street
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Alley behind 4100 Lincoln St
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Quincy Avenue at Jason
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Sherman Street
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Areas next to newly developed lots
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Alleys along Acoma (specifically at 4600 block)
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S Acoma Street
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S Clarkson and S Clarkson Circle at Amherst
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Lipan Street
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Along Quincy and Navajo
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Along the green belt
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Gutters at the corner of Stanford and Delaware
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Downstream of All Souls Catholic Church
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Drains at Corona downstream of Dartmouth
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Drains at Corona and Cornell
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Downing Street
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Broadway and Floyd
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Hampden at Big O Tires
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Radcliff Avenue at 1200 Block
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S Windermere between Lehigh and Oxford
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Street at 4600 Grant
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Temporary manmade culvert at 4660 Bannock
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Paved yard two houses down of 4660 Bannock
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Former City Ditch
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Radcliff and Lipan
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South side of Stanford from east to west
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Alleys on Stanford between Cherokee and Bannock
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North on Sherman from Dartmouth past Cornell
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Corner of S Lincoln and Amherst
Specific Areas of Flooding
During the course of this study, several homeowners were met in-person at their homes to discuss flooding issues and current floodproofing methods. A few of the most notable items are outlined below.
Individual Homeowner Flooding
2900 Block of Ogden
The residents at this location have lived at the property for 43 years.
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Flooding has only occurred in the past 11 years, getting worse as more development is finished to the southeast of this property
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The owner before the current resident had built a tasteful brick wall around the back of the house to protect the ground-level windows from water
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Flooding occurs at this property mainly because of a lack of drainage in the back alley. There is an inlet in the alley behind the house that is insufficient
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In recent years, two additional storm lines have been installed to deposit runoff into the inlet box in front of this property
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The resident noted that if the two additional lines had run directly into the inlet across the street, the outlet pipe is bigger and would likely handle the additional flows, as opposed to the smaller pipe within the inlet box directly in front of the property
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A neighbor to the south had built a concrete wall around the back of the property in the past; after the wall was built, the residents at 2960 S Ogden noted higher flooding depths (up to 10" more than previous floods)
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This resident noted upwards of 40" of water in the garage during the large storm event of 2018
4600 Block of acoma
The owner of this location usually rents the property to two sets of tenants, one in the upstairs area and one set in the basement.
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The recent flooding in 2018 rendered the basement uninhabitable. Renovations are ongoing.
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The upstairs area was not impacted
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Water broke one egress window and one other window into the basement, flooding the area to the ceiling; the resident was able to escape before the water got too high
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All carpeting, drywall, furniture, wiring and plumbing is being renovated to mitigate damage due to the floods
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The stairwell to the basement also flooded, eventually leaving the basement filled with water during the flood
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A small step had been built around the stairwell that would keep out smaller floods, but this home experienced nearly 3.5' of flooding
1200 Block of radcliff
The residents at this location have lived at this property for 32 years.
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The recent flood cause tens of thousands of dollars in damages to cars, furniture, carpeting and other household appliances
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This house does not have a basement, just a main level
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The main level of the house sustained flooding due to minor gaps in the wall-foundation connection
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The large 8' fence adjacent to the property was knocked down due to the force of the water
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The garage door and other fencing was damaged due to water force as well
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This resident also noted that nearby new developments have been associated with higher and more common flooding