Mold, mildew threaten flooded homes
 
By MATT MURPHY, Sun Staff
Lowell Sun
 
LOWELL -- For a fleeting moment yesterday afternoon, the sun peaked out from
behind the clouds and Belinda Arruda took a deep breath.
 
Returning to her New York Street home for the first time since evacuating
Monday morning, Arruda watched her husband, Mario, and a work crew pump 7
feet of flood water from her newly finished basement.
 
"Honestly, we got out and took most of our valuables with us. The rest,
well, little by little we'll do it over I guess. I've seen worse happen to
people," Arruda said.
 
As the Arrudas and other homeowners surveyed damage, many couldn't help but
draw comparisons to the flood that devastated New Orleans last summer after
Hurricane Katrina.
 
Here, public health and building officials aren't expecting comparable
devastation. Merrimack River pollution was minimal in Greater Lowell, sewer
officials said, and residents who use proper caution face limited health
risks.
 
"The problem is if you let it stay wet too long, you get mold," Lowell
Health Director Frank Singleton said. "With Katrina, there was a long wait
time between the flood and the people returning to there homes. Those homes
were also under water, in some cases up to the attic. The majority of what
we have is flooded basements."
 
Singleton said he had not heard any reports of major chemical or oil spills,
and any sewage leaks have been heavily diluted.
 
Residents can protect themselves from bacteria by wearing gloves and washing
their hands, he said.
 
"If you happen to touch raw sewage, use common sense. Don't put you're
finger in your mouth," Singleton said.
 
"Once water seeps in behind the walls and gets saturated, you don't get rid
of that. Once it dries, you get mildew," Lowell Building Inspector Joe
Guthrie Jr. said.
 
Three command centers were set up in the hardest hit neighborhods --
Pawtucketville, Centralville and the Highlands along Middlesex Street to the
Rourke Bridge.
 
The Lowell Building Department will initially rely on three inspectors to
assess damage as they survey flooded buildings. Permit fees will be waived
by the Building Department as landlords start to make repairs.
 
Officials said in addition to mold and structural damage, residents should
also be wary of wet electrical systems that could spark fires. Soaked rugs,
dry wall, upholstered furniture and mattresses will all have to be
discarded. Guthrie said extensive flooding at Camelot Court on Pawtucket
Boulevard will likely require many first-floor units to be torn apart and
rebuilt.
 
Singleton, however, said residents with cement basements should simply
remove the water as quickly a possible with pumps and mops and disinfect
flooded areas with bleach and soapy water.
 
On Dunshire Drive in Chelmsford, Mark Workman and his friend Joe Landry used
squeegees to push water in his garage to one of three pumps he was using to
dry his cellar.
 
The small brook that once trickled through his backyard had turned into a
miniature lake, devouring the backyards of the Workmans and at least a dozen
neighbors.
 
By noon on Monday, Workman said he had 17 inches of water in his basement.
"I've never seen anything like this ever," said Workman. "From 5 a.m.
yesterday to midnight, I worked to keep the water out. Every part of me
aches."
 
At the peak of the storm, Lowell sewer officials worried that the high level
of the Merrimack River might prevent the discharge of treated wastewater
from Lowell, Dracut, Tyngsboro and Tewksbury into the river.
 
Relying on pumps instead of gravity, Lowell Regional Wastewater Treatment
Facility Executive Director Mark Young said his department was able to keep
the station running smoothly.
 
Drinking water throughout the region has also remained clean, despite
initial fears that Lowell might have to shut down its pumping station as
water levels rose.
 
 
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