By LEAH WEATHERSBY

The record-setting rainfall that pounded the Seattle area on Aug. 22 took locals by surprise, but none more so than some residents and businesses located near the storm water detention pond at the corner of NE 125th Street and 35th Avenue NE in Lake City.

Hardest hit by the flood was an office building at 12333 35th Ave NE and an adjacent condominium building just north of the office building. The City temporarily cut power to both buildings as a precautionary measure. The office building houses the separate dental practices of Dr. Richard Greiner and Dr. Robert Eriks on the ground floor, as well as some office tenants in the basement.

The Seattle Public Utilities department also contacted several other area residents to determine the full extent of the damage.

The flooding occurred when the detention pond overflowed. The next day the pond was still full, which trees and other plants in the basin still partially submerged.

SPU has recently been working in the area since June to replace a partially collapsed culvert, which runs under 35th Avenue NE, between NE 125th and NE 123rd.

Michael Brennan, a supervising civil engineer with SPU, said his department only has a three-month period to complete work on the culvert, otherwise the construction work could interfere with spawning salmon in Little Brook Creek, the tributary of Thornton Creek that connects with the detention pond.

While the deadline to complete the detention project was Aug. 31, Brennan said SPU will seek an extension.

As of press time, SPU had not yet determined the cause of the flooding, nor whether the culvert restoration project had contributed to it. The department was also unsure who would end up paying to repair the damage to the nearby buildings caused by the flooding. (