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St. Paul crews use steamers to clear ice blocked sewer grates
A mix of snow and freezing rain made for some flooding in the Twin Cities.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As a U.S. postal carrier for 14 years, Tony Sievers pounds the pavement in all kinds of weather.
But on this day, braving the elements means dodging plenty of puddles to make his appointed rounds.
"I kind of had to walk through them because there was no way to go around them so that's how it is. It's just part of the job. This time of year, you kind of expect to do it a few times. Just trying to get through to the actual spring," said Sievers.
Minnesota is already known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but after Mother Nature dumped a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain on top of last week's snowstorm, there were a few more bodies of water scattered on thoroughfares across the metro, as some streets and intersections flooded because of clogged storm drains.
"So we've gotten about 50 calls to our sewer maintenance division for people asking for some help to try to open up some of those storm drains on streets or in their alleys. It's really kind of widespread throughout the city," said Lisa Hiebert of St. Paul's Public Works Department.
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Minneapolis residents cleanup after messy, icy morning
The City of Minneapolis is urging residents to clear out storm drains where possible after an icy morning lead to a soggy start to the day.
City crews in both Minneapolis and St Paul were out in full force using plows to unplug some of those storm drains that were covered by snow.
St Paul also had 4 crews using steamers to clear blocked sewer grates so the pools of water on the streets could drain into the sewer system.
"Not super duper unusual. We see this usually a little bit in the later spring, but because we actually have rain out there with the snow, it's causing a lot of calls for us today," said Hiebert.
Even though the wet weather is making a splash, most Minnesotans like Sievers seem to be taking it in stride.
"It gets wet and cold but it's part of the job. Go home, take a shower and you are good," said Sievers.