Mark Kimbel started his day before dawn Thursday morning and will be working overtime. As the Mississippi river rises, so does demand for the veteran plumber employed by Crawford Company.
"Everybody's basement is flooded. I had a lady call at 4 a.m, she got two feet of water in her basement, she's lived in the house since 1974 and has never had water," Kimbel said, while pumping water outside Watermark Corners in downtown Moline.
The building which houses a stationary and gift store, and the River House Restaurant was dealing with four feet of water in the basement. The restaurant couldn't open, and remained closed Thursday night.
"Four feet of water in the basement. We got three gas pumps and one electric going. The sewer gets overloaded with rain water and they just get overwhelmed. No where for the water to go, so it seeks the lowest place. The basement," Kimbel said.
Shop vacs and sump pumps are at a premium in the area.