Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 48).pdf/181

 located some 150 feet eastward. Numerous witnesses testified. Testimony was introduced that Villard street in front of plaintiff’s property was a sheet of water clear across; that the streets surrounding block 5 were flooded with water. One witness testified that there seemed to be a lake of water down First street (north of block 5) and Second avenue (east of block 5): Another witness testified that at the Masonic Temple, two blocks northward and westward from plaintiff’s property, and where the elevation is 19 inches higher than plaintiff’s property, the water rose upon the building to the depth of 3 inches. One of plaintiff’s witnesses testified that as soon as the storm stopped somewhat he started from a store in the same block as plaintiff’s property, but on higher ground. He waded all the way around the streets to plaintiff’s property; water up to the knees, more or less, dependent whether walking in the streets or upon the sidewalk; he walked over to the culvert in the right of way; saw the water there level with a 4-inch projecting flange, which would make the water 4 inches above the top of the opening; 15 or 20 minutes later he went down again, and noticed that the water then was probably about 4 inches below the top of the pipe. Another of plaintiff's witnesses testified that at Soules & Butlers corner, where city culverts are located in the street the water was over his knees in the middle of the street and up to his knees on the sidewalk; that he walked down to this culvert in the right of way; remained there one-half hour; that the water was above the top 3 or 4 inches, maybe 6 inches ; that it stood at that height 15 or 20 minutes, and then started to lower; that when he left the water in culvert was 3 inches down. Other witnesses testified to the water running into places of business and filling, or partially filling, some basements.

Testimony was offered that the top of the cast iron culvert under the right of way is about 10 inches lower than plaintiff’s property; that before water would back up from the location of the city culverts it would rise in the street there to a depth of 4 or 6 inches; that such water upon such street would have passed under natural conditions through the drainway into the river.

Expert testimony on the part of the defendant was offered that the culvert in the right of way was planned so as to take care of a 3-inch rainfall upon the drainage areas concerned in an hour, or a continuous rainfall for any length of time of 1 inch per hour; that the 3-inch rainfall per hour in the drainage area would give a run off of 123 cu. feet per second; that the culvert had a capacity of 277 cubic feet per second. No expert