Several Roads Flooded After Bellingham Beaver Dam Demolished
BELLINGHAM (CBS) – Several streets were flooded when Bellingham DPW workers demolished a beaver dam upstream from them on Friday.
The dam was so large that it plugged up a culvert at Whitehall Way, backing up the water flow.
DPW went in and started to demolish the dam, causing the release of a torrent of water downstream that flooded five roads including Newland Avenue.
Resident Bob Jackson says he was coming home from the dentist and decided to take a detour after watching a DPW truck get stuck in the flooding.
"The water was just too deep to drive through," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe. "I said that's not going to happen to me so I drove around."
Jackson says it was like "Niagra Falls" when the water was coming downstream.
"But then it slowed up and it was like someone pulled the plug," he said. "It was gone."
The DPW has hired beaver trappers to relocate the beavers.
They are asking residents to keep an eye on road culverts around their homes.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports: