Flash Flood in South Dakota, August 7, 1999

Nearly stationary thunderstorms produced from 3 to 7 inches of rainfall in the French Creek basin. This water inundated French Creek which flows through Custer and considerable damage occurred to county roads and portions of the city of Custer. Over one dozen evacuations were ordered. One major result of the flooding was the contamination of the waste treatment plant which took in 2.9 million gallons of water in 48 hours, and it can normally handle just 500,000 gallons of water a day. The newly completed city baseball park was also completely flooded. Between the city of Custer and the state highway department, damage estimates to streets, bridges, highways and buildings was approximately $115,000. There has been no estimate so far of damages to private property, but numerous homes had up to 3 to 4 inches of water in their basements.