SALISBURY, Md. - When Patricia Nook purchased her home in 2018. She had no intentions of putting a pool in her backyard. Due to constant flooding, she has one for free.
"The first flood was August the 14th. Then the second was November the 12th. This happened December the 5th so they're coming back to back and I'm staying under water. I just had a lot of work done in the backyard and I'm afraid that's going to damage that," says Nook.
The water continues to recede but not nearly fast enough after Saturday's showers. Because of flooding, the previous owners put in an underground drain and even left Pat a pump.
Patricia is 60-years old and is a retired nurse. She also lives alone. So for her to use the pump the previous owners left her, is near impossible. "I can't lift and do and it's like six hoses that you have to connect and run to the street and it's way too much physically for me to deal with," Nook says, "plus, I don't know how to run it so what do you do?"
Nook first looked towards Wicomico County for help as the front of her property faces a county street. Her backyard, however, faces a private farm.
Mark Whitelock, Deputy Director of Public Works for Wicomico County, says he's familiar with Nook's property. He calls her yard, "a bowl" in regards to water retention. "It has historically flooded, for some time. I mean it is a problem, but there's, it's not something the county can do anything about," Whitelock says.
As temperatures continue to drop, the water is likely to stick around Nook's property for several more days. Her home is not in a flood zone. Nook says she may write a letter to the farm behind her property. She's just unsure how receptive they will be to the idea of helping.
