KENT COUNTY, Del. -- High tide came and went Monday afternoon in Bowers Beach, leaving behind an all too familiar scene.
The tide peaked around 3:00 p.m., but hours later, water could still be seen covering low-lying areas as it slowly receded back into the Murderkill River. For longtime neighbors, scenes like this are nothing out of the ordinary.
"I’ll be honest, it looks pretty bad, but this is pretty normal," said Jack Weiler.
It's a point that Pete Russo, owner of the Bayview Tavern, could not agree with more.
"When you live near the shore, this is something you’re going to deal with," added another resident, Pete Russo.
While Monday’s flooding looked significant, Russo said it doesn’t compare to past storms. In 2008, floodwaters poured into his bar, and the same thing happened again in 2011.
Still, those who call Bowers home say they always take storms seriously.
"Anything that can get flooded, we raise up," said Russo. "We just try to prepare, so this has been going on for three days now, we knew this was coming, we prepare, and pay it doesn't even need to be done."
Some visitors stopped by to see the high waters for themselves.
"We kind of just wanted to come out and check what was going on," said Amanda Lineweaver.
Locals, however, have a warning for anyone tempted to get too close.
"Just stay out of the water, and don’t drive through it," Weiler said. “It’s saltwater, this is all saltwater," said Weiler, pointing to a flooded road outside of the Bayview Tavern." That is just going to corrode your car and make a bunch of problems for yourself. But if you're driving through the water or walking through the water, you're creating wake and putting that into other peoples homes."
Flooding is a familiar sight in Bowers Beach, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Water levels are expected to continue dropping into the evening before rising again with the next high tide around 4 a.m. Tuesday.