On February 19th it started raining…and raining…and raining…and raining. Northern Indiana had over six inches in rain in some places. While that’s a fair bit of rain, the situation was exacerbated by about a two-foot snow pack and frozen ground. With the tremendous amount of stormwater pouring into the system from across a large geographic area, the river began over-pourring its banks, onto roads, into neighborhoods, and into homes.
As part of a course on Literature and the Environment I’m teaching, my students are working on a community-based project on the St. Joseph River. So when the flooding started, my students were paying attention. One thing my students understood quickly was that a flooded river is also an infrastructure issue for the sewers.
South Bend has a mixed wastewater system where all the rainwater and sewage go to the wastewater facility to be treated before going into the river. But, as the river rose seven-feet above flood stage, there was simply no where for the sewage and rainwater to go…except up people’s floor drains and into their basements. The neighborhood below Holy Cross College (where I live) was one of the worst hit. Some of our neighbors, including an elderly widow next door, had between three and four feet of sewage and storm water in their basements. And, while the water drained out within a week, the damage and mess will take months to clean-up.
My students felt a particular investment in this flood because the river we are studying as part of the class suddenly turned devastating and horrible right before our eyes. They wanted to help, in part because of some discussions we’d been having about the ecology of Lent, where we’ve explored the idea that Lenten fasting is about learning to live smaller and thus make more room for others (for a reflection on this idea, check out Room at the Table).
On Saturday, March 3rd, a group of students from the class went to my neighbor’s house and put their thinking about Lent and this beautiful, devastating, fragile world into action.
Since a picture is worth …well you know the cliche, watch the local ABC affiliate’s coverage of the flood recovery and my student’s efforts.
Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes
Lent, 2018
