Heavy overnight and early morning rain had city crews watchingfor ways to correct and drain areas of accumulated water Wednesday,officials said.

Director of Public Works Steve Moreton said the flooding thatoccurs after a heavy rain like the one that hit the area Wednesdayis usually unavoidable. He said what causes the majority of theclogs is when trash and other yard items are blown or washed downthe curb and into inlets and grates.

“They’re not going to have all the curbs and everything pickedup all over the city all the time,” he said. “We drive down andpick stuff up, and (residents) got a yard man and he puts more outright behind us.”

The inlets are sometimes already clogged from people who dotheir yard work and blow the limbs and grass cuttings down thestreet and into an inlet, Moreton said.

Something like that is hard to detect before a big rain comesthrough. Sometimes it’s a simple everyday yard item that causes theblockage.

“Sometimes it’s garbage can tops or a basketball, because abasketball in the culvert is a perfect stopper,” he said. “Withgarbage cans, you let the water catch the open end of a garbage canand it’ll wash it down a good way. It’s not obstructions anybodyplans.”

Meanwhile, it makes more extra work for the Brookhaven PoliceDepartment as well.

Police Chief Pap Henderson said his officers will be on theroads until they are drained, making sure motorists are directedthe right way if a road is impassable.

“During the daylight hours the street department is out doingeverything they can, and certain streets we have to block to keepmotorists from going through,” Henderson said. “People see thewater is high, but they still try to go through it. So we patroland watch these low-lying areas, whatever we have to do to keepthings moving smoothly.”

Henderson said some roads have to be closed when the water getshigh, both for the safety of the public and for the safety of thecity workers trying to unstop the blockage.

“The people of this town should know for themselves, they livehere – If you see a street that’s flooded out, just turn around,because you’re better safe than sorry,” Henderson said. “That waywe don’t have to get a wrecker and pull you out. And it’ll be oversoon, just be patient.”

Moreton agreed, urging the public to just wait it out, remindingresidents that the flooded streets not only inconvenience them, butalso create more hard work for city employees.

“Today you’ll see a bunch of guys riding around with forksunstopping the plugs,” he said. “This is not our water, this is theLord’s water. We charge you for water that goes through your meterthat goes through your house, we charge you for the sewage thatcomes out of your house, but nobody is charged for rainwater. Andit is still an expense to the city.”