Flood in Kennebec County, Maine

On December 19th, the Kennebec River at Hallowell reached major flood stage, cresting at 22.5 feet at the USGS river gage. There was significant damage to riverside businesses with floodwaters reaching all the way up to Route 201 on Water Street. Flood waters filled basements and were up to 18 in over 2 dozen businesses in downtown Hallowell. Further downstream in Gardiner there was severe flooding near the confluence with the Cobbosseecontee Stream and the Kennebec River between Route 201, Bridge Street, and Water Street. Dozens of businesses and apartments were inundated with water up to 5 feet deep.

On December 19th the Kennebec River at Augusta reached the 3rd highest level on record, cresting at 26.92 feet. The other floods of record were 30.70 feet in 1936 and 34.1 feet in 1987. The river stage in Augusta has significant tidal influence so the discharge varies based on the time of day, however using estimates from upstream gages it is likely the flows fell between a 50 to 100 year event, or 1-2% annual chance exceedance level. The flooding was the result of heavy rain combined with snowmelt from the headwaters. The most significant impacts were east of Water Street south of Bond Brook and along Front Street in downtown Augusta, just south of the Calumet Bridge. Businesses along Front Street observed flood waters chest high in first floor buildings, including a U.S. Post Office. Multiple homes flooded from the Kennebec River and backwater on Bond Brook along Water Street and Bond Street on the west side of the river. Flooding was less severe on the east bank where most of the inundation was in recreational areas and portions of Howard Street.

The highway department responded to address backed up drainage across multiple roads in the Augusta, Hallowell, and Manchester area on the morning of the 18th. Numerous local roads were flooded as ditches and storm drains were overwhelmed with 2 to 3 inches of rainfall. The heaviest rainfall was reported in Manchester with 2.97 inches which fell in 2 rounds of heavy rain the night before and again during the early morning hours of the 18th.