Glenda Cowling is tired.

Usually, she could get to the sewer backup before it flooded the Aubrey house she owns. She managed to save the house during the last big storm, three years ago.

DRC/David Minton

Glenda Cowling steps on a piece of wet carpet padding in her house at 202 E. North St. in Aubrey on Wednesday.

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But on Wednesday, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine dumped more than 6 inches of rain across the Denton area, the backflow came up from the tub and toilet too hard and fast for her to keep up. She called the fire department, and city workers came and pumped the mess out.

It was a long night of cleaning.

“My daughter, she has to be moved out,” said Cowling, whose daughter and granddaughter live in the house. “We have to rip out the walls. There’s sewage in the walls now. It’ll be more than that black mold.”

Cowling, who works at Oak Point City Hall, said she wondered whether anyone called there to report flooding. They didn’t. Oak Point has been putting in new culverts and it appears to be helping the storm water situation there, she said.

She’s frustrated that sewer backups continue to be a problem in Aubrey.

Denton city workers had their own problems after the storm.

More than 12,600 gallons of sewage spilled at seven locations across the city after heavy rains overwhelmed parts of the wastewater system, city spokesman John Cabrales said. City workers had not yet assessed the amount spilled at an eighth location in the 3200 block of Fallmeadow Street, where they determined that grease — likely from kitchen sink drains — had clogged the line, Cabrales said.

Christina Bayer, who lives in the Denton North Apartments at 3210 Fallmeadow, said the spill left feces and other items scattered across apartment complex grounds. The sewage flooded into at least two apartments, Bayer said.

“It’s just a total mess here,” she said Thursday afternoon. “I walked by awhile ago, and there was a big piece of feces in the grass where they sprayed it off the sidewalk.”

Apartment workers were trying to clean up the affected areas after facing pressure from tenants and a city building inspector, said Jennifer Lemons, who reported that sewage rose up from her toilet and coated the floors of her one-bedroom unit during the storm.

“There was probably a good inch of water in my bathroom and all across my living room,” Lemons said.

Messages left with the apartment office and the city building inspections department seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Denton’s wastewater system carries waste from toilets, kitchen sinks and other drains to a plant for treatment. City workers regularly test the system to find cracks, broken seal caps or other spots where rainwater could seep in, but overflows can still happen during severe weather, Cabrales said.

He could not immediately provide information on how city workers responded to the spills but said they planned to notify state environmental regulators.

Homes flooded

About two dozen homes across Denton County experienced some flooding from rainwater Wednesday, ranging from less than an inch in some areas to 4 feet in Lewisville, said Jody Gonzales, the county’s emergency management coordinator. No injuries were reported.

A handful of roads in the county remained closed Thursday because of damage sustained in the storm, but the water had mostly receded, Gonzales said.

“We’re more or less into the recovery phase, looking into damage estimates,” he said.

City leaders closed Lewisville City Hall on Wednesday to make emergency repairs, after flooding in the basement threatened the main power supply, city spokesman James Kunke said. The building opened as normal Thursday, he said.

Most of the flooding occurred in the Timbercreek neighborhood, where about 10 homes took on water and about 30 people were displaced. Most made their own arrangements for shelter, although a few did take vouchers from the American Red Cross, Kunke said.

As of Thursday, the city has not received any damage assessments for the neighborhood, but preliminary reports indicated all the damage would be repairable, he said.

DRC/Al Key

This finger-like protrusion from a wall cloud at the base of a severe thunderstorm in Cooke County may have produced a brief tornado that was reported to the National Weather Service at about 7:30 Wednesday night. The trained weather spotter was 2 miles north of Lindsay.

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Lake Dallas officials were aware of at least three structures that flooded, with local reports of about 9 inches of rain, according to City Manager Earl Berner. No other damage was reported, but residents of the lakeside hamlet noted that Lewisville Lake had risen 3 feet since the storm began, Berner said.

In Hickory Creek, Public Works Director Jeff McSpedden said a few houses flooded. When the sun came out Thursday, crews noted little debris in streets and borrow ditches.

“It all washed downstream,” McSpedden said.

School districts react

Area school districts reported minor water damage and leaks. School officials said repairs were underway Thursday.

Denton Superintendent Ray Braswell said he spoke with Paul Andress, the district’s director of maintenance and operations, who informed him that schools had submitted work orders for minor water-related issues, minimal flooding and leaks associated with Wednesday’s storm.

“He told me we were all thankful for the fact that it occurred during the school day. We were there before it really got bad, and we were there through the end of it,” Braswell said. “He said there could have been more serious problems had we not been on staff or not been on duty.”

Denton school buses were almost on schedule in getting students home Wednesday, with the exception of one that got stuck in mud, district spokeswoman Sharon Cox said. Another bus was dispatched to collect the stranded riders, she said.

Pilot Point Assistant Superintendent Dan Gist said about half of the district’s transportation building flooded with about 2 inches of water Wednesday, but no significant damages were sustained.

Bus routes were switched because of flooded roads, and the district could not get to the back road at the Pioneer Valley community, Gist said. All students are being picked up at the neighborhood’s front gate until waters recede, he said.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com  .

Heavy rains in Denton on Wednesday caused sewage overflows at the following locations:

* 1126 Cordell St.: 100 gallons

* 700 Austin St.: 750 gallons

* 1007 Crescent St.: 750 gallons

* 819 E. McKinney St.: 750 gallons

* 909 Raleigh Path Road: 1,800 gallons

* 1007 Fulton St.: 2,000 gallons

* 6525 State School Road: 6,525 gallons

* 3200 Fallmeadow St.: undetermined amount

SOURCE: City of Denton