Local

Flooded Lake Serene still causing homeowners problems

Flooded homeowners are still on their own even as workers have begun work on an emergency fix in Snohomish County to alleviate flooding at Lake Serene in Lynnwood.

“I just want my yard,” Debbie Bly-Olsen said. “I want my peace of mind. I get really emotional .”

Bly-Olsen has been living with a flooded backyard for a month.

She showed KIRO 7 what her yard looked like last summer when she first moved in. Now it's covered with 10 feet of water.

“It's crushing every day to see it,” Bly-Olsen added.

The previous homeowner had already installed a flood wall, but the flooding got so bad, Bly-Olsen and her husband reinforced one side of it with sandbags and heavy plastic, and the other with waterproof shower board. Water still managed to seep onto her patio, so they built another flood wall with sandbags to prevent the water from getting into their home.

From Chopper 7 last week, you see how badly Lake Serene is flooded.

The problem: An outflow pipe on private property has just stopped working.

Crews were out Tuesday, prepping for Wednesday’s groundbreaking on construction of a temporary drain at the boat launch.

“We thought finally things were going to go down, things would be turned around,” Bly-Olsen said.

But her mood soon went south when she realized it would only prevent flooding on the county roads and from reaching this fire station right down the way from the boat launch.

KIRO 7 spoke with Will Hall, from Snohomish County’s Surface Water Management, over the phone. He confirmed it will help reduce lake levels from the record flood stage it's at right now, but it won’t get to the same levels as it was a month ago before the private pipe failed.

“It was just gut-wrenching to know nothing would come of it,” Bly-Olsen explained. “We wouldn’t get instant relief or any relief.”

It leaves homeowners like Bly-Olsen feeling as if they are still on their own.

Bly-Olsen has already burned through two sump pumps and she has another two running every 30 seconds 24/7.

And she’ll keep doing that and whatever else it takes to save her home.

The county has proposed building a permanent drain. But they want the 95 homeowners around the lake to help pay for it. The homeowners don't think that’s fair. They want the other homes in the  watershed to pitch in too.

The County Council will hold a meeting on March 22.