Kin Brewer gently maneuvered his late-model Ford pickup through the swollen waters of Duck Creek that flowed over a section of Ohio 821 near Whipple Thursday afternoon.
The water was 2 feet deep in places, and covered about 100 yards of the roadway.
But Brewer figured the risk was worth it, even though another vehicle had become stranded in that same area just an hour before.
“I live about halfway between Whipple and Lower Salem, and if I can’t get through here I’d have to travel to Bonn and over gravel backroads through Stanleyville,” he said.
Washington County sheriff’s Deputy Bob Eddy watched Brewer ease his truck through the water.
“I’m not so concerned about a truck that size, but smaller vehicles won’t make it,” he said. “And if they attempt to cross and get stuck, they’re going to get a ticket.”
Eddy said drivers are often fooled by high water because the roadway ahead appears level, but there may be a dip in the road that is hidden below the water surface.
“Every year after hard rains, someone gets stuck in high water,” he said.
Brewer’s pickup made it through, as did several trucks and SUVs on Thursday afternoon, but Whipple-area resident Don Leasure wasn’t willing to take a chance with his van.
“I drove through here about 7:30 a.m. (Thursday). A lot of cars were coming through then, but the water was only about a foot deep at that time,” he said. “But now it’s up to the guardrails and looks about 2 feet deep.”
Leasure said he was surprised the creek was still rising since the last of this week’s heavy downpours had passed through the area about 12 hours before.
“I really thought it would have dropped by now,” he said before turning the van around and heading home via Highland Ridge Road and Lower Salem.
A parade of thunderstorms that moved through the area from Tuesday through early Thursday brought about 3 inches of rain into the Mid-Ohio Valley, causing flash flooding and filling area rivers to the brim.
Although sunshine dominated Thursday’s weather, some creeks continued to rise as they took on runoff from tributaries upstream.
Duck Creek was one of those streams, according to Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks, who reported 18 flooded area roadways remained under water late Thursday afternoon. Among the roads in the report were portions of Ohio 821, Washington County 333, Washington County 9 and Ohio 145 just north of Lower Salem.
