Photo by BoundaryStoneDC

The flooding in Bloomingdale has happened enough times this summer that there’s even a name for the epicenter of the rising waters: Lake Rhode Island. Last night’s torrential storms didn’t spare the neighborhood, with over three-and-a-half inches of rain causing flash floods around Rhode Island Avenue and First Street NW and provoking an emergency response to remove people stranded in cars.

Yesterday’s flooding came only weeks after Mayor Vince Gray created a task force to address the floods that have hit the neighborhood various times this year and date back over a decade. The task force has been charged with finding short-term solutions to the problem; DC Water has put forth some immediate fixes for frustrated residents in recent weeks. (More from DC Water is here.)

The flooding is caused by old sewers in the neighborhood that are incapable of handling the amount of rain that has fallen during this summer’s storms. DC Water has started a $2.6 billion infrastructure project that will see a massive tunnel under the Anacostia River serve as a repository for stormwater runoff, along with a 13-mile line running up towards Bloomingdale. Still, the project isn’t set to be completed for 13 years.

The flooding also struck the Shaw Metro station, shutting down service between Mt. Vernon Square and Georgia Avenue in the evening hours.