Riverfront Park is beginning to look like Riverfront Park again.
The park, much of which was submerged in water after the Umatilla River overflowed late Monday night, is beginning to dry out after the river crested late last night.
“It’s pretty amazing how quickly the water cleared out,” said Hermiston Parks and Recreation Director Larry Fetter.
The parking lot remains closed as of 1:30 p.m., but the walking paths are mostly clear of mud, except for the north end of the park which was flooded over. Fetter said he expects the parking lot to be cleared and re-opened by around 3 p.m. today.
The good news, according to Fetter, is there appears to be little damage to the park, other than the playground’s wood chips that floated away with the water.
“I thought there would be more damage,” Fetter said. “Fortunately, there’s not a lot of debris left behind, which there usually is with this kind of water event.”
The park remained open Tuesday, despite the flooding, because Fetter said it posed no safety risk.
“If the water had come up any higher or flowed any faster, we would have closed it,” he said. Tuesday’s flooding sparked a lot of drive-by viewers taking in the eerie-looking scene.
“It became a point of interest,” Fetter said. “Even people who never use the park drove by to take a look.”
The rising Umatilla River waters were the result of heavy runoff from the mountains. Fetter said the river overflows about every four or five years. He said he will consult with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about ways to prevent the park from becoming flooded when the Umatilla River overflows in the future.
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