FERGUSON, Mo. – Several inches of rain in this weekend's forecast have people living along Maline Creek in Ferguson worried about what it could bring.
In the historic floods of 2016 and 2017, the creek poured into many of the homes that border it, causing thousands of dollars of damage.
The erosion and flooding issues caused by Maline Creek forced Ferguson resident Glenn Jones to move out of his house. He lived in it for about 40 years and bought the home after years of renting.
“For a while, I lived in my daughter's basement,” he said.
It’s been a struggle for Jones ever since. He said he doesn’t work and he lives on a fixed income, which is not enough to pay for the apartment he has now.
“[My home] was my lifesavings,” he said.
The rainfall coming this weekend has Jones and his neighbors worried.
"I feel anxious every time it's going to be a heavy rain," he said. “Everyone on this creek is losing property and everyone's fear is flooding."
But, flooding isn’t the only issue that has Jones up at night.
"The trees are going to fall down on the house or even the whole house is going to fall into the creek,” he said.
For years, he said no one would take responsibility for the problematic creek. The Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) recently announced a plan to fix erosion and flooding issues in the St. Louis area. It’s a ballot measure that would cost customers about $27 dollars a year and would give MSD another $30 million annually to tackle problems like this. The new rate would likely be on the ballot in 2019.
Over the years, Jones created many memories. Most of them were in an old photo album he looked through during an interview with us.
"It is emotional,” he said. “It does bring it all back when you start looking at pictures and stuff."
He hopes these issues can get resolved so one day he can move back into his home.
"This was my sanctuary."
