Hurricane Ike vs. Deer Creek

Written by Danelle Haake Monday, February 16th, 2009 7:50 PM

Last Updated on Sunday, December 18th, 2011 8:29 PM

Members of the River des Peres Watershed Coalition were very busy in the week following the storm that was Hurricane Ike.

On the morning of Sunday, September 14th, numerous homes and businesses were under several feet of water along the upper Ruver des Peres, Deer Creek, and Black Creek. Along with the typical dirt, leaves, and other debris to be expected during any flood event, this particular flood carried away a couple of boats (with trailers attached), pallets still full of lumber, picnic tables, dumpsters, construction barricades, and 55-gallon drums holding a variety of dangerous chemicals. Many of these items ended up at a site near and dear to many of us - Deer Creek Park.

Teams of volunteers came to the park to pull what they could from Deer Creek. It turned out they could pull out quite a bit! We filled two dumpsters with trash. We recycled a trash can full of aluminum cans and plastic bottles. We recovered several tires. We filled a johnboat with scrap metal bound for the scrap yard. Several volunteers even took items home for their own use: a big metal chest, several bits of lumber, an A-frame sign stand, and much more. Thank you for your efforts to keep this site clean!! (View our slide show.)