For the past several weeks, inclement weather has drenched Abilene, causing water to rise throughout the city.

The flooding has led to several road closures, including FM 89 leading to Abilene State Park and Lake Abilene, US Hwy 83 near Impact and FM 1085 near Trent.

Although ACU has underground drainage, water can still overfill the pipes resulting in standing water.

Scott Warren, the director of landscaping grounds, said campus and surrounding areas drain efficiently.

“We don’t have a huge amount of problems with water in buildings,” said Warren “There have been some issues in the past but a lot of those have been corrected.”

Warren said there was one minor call regarding a water leak onto carpet, but no major issues. He said that because ACU sits on a hill, water drainage is natural and simpler.

The city of Abilene has undergone improvements with drainage systems over time as well, but still has setbacks. Rainfall in Abilene falls to the ground and flows into creeks that lead to local lakes. Therefore, excess rainfall can cause the lakes to overflow, much like Lake Abilene.

“Because of the huge amount of rainfall, there are always some low-lying areas that become problematic,” said Warren.

ACUPD and APD responded to multiple calls as a result of the weather. ACUPD responded to a fire alarm activated at University Park due to weather, and APD placed barricades at the intersection of Ambler and Grape for a fallen electrical pole. In addition, APD Public Information Officer Rick Tomlin relayed 65 vehicle accidents in Abilene between Oct. 14-21.

According to worldclimate.com, Abilene receives 24.83 inches of rainfall annually. October has already seen 10 inches.

Warren said Abilene has put in a lot of effort in keeping the creeks clean, along with detention ponds to slow down runoff.