Tom Hummer was just concerned about getting to work Wednesday morning.

Hummer, who was scheduled to open at Dairy Queen on Orion Drive, drove for more than an hour from Franklin Avenue — a trip that lasts 10 minutes on any other day.

“I had to try and drive County Line Road and had to go all the way around Ada Hayden (Heritage Park) because 13th Street was flooded,” Hummer said. “I felt like no matter what way I went I couldn’t get to the north side of town.”

Hummer, senior in English, made arrangements to work another shift in the afternoon, and returned home — only to find an inch of standing water in his basement.

“I never thought I’d say we’re lucky to only have an inch of water in our basement,” Hummer said. “We’ll have to replace all the carpet, but I know there were people more affected than we were.”

Hummer’s employer had his own mess to handle. 

Allan Sorenson had to close Dairy Queen on Wednesday due to the shutdown of the Ames water plant.

“There’s no way we were about to serve contaminated water to our customers,” Sorenson said. 

Dairy Queen was able to reopen Thursday.

Sorenson’s home receives water from Xenia Rural Water and he is able to bring clean water into the store for washing dishes, hands and surfaces.

“We’re taking extra steps to ensure customer safety,” Sorenson said. 

Dairy Queen is serving its full menu and will transport clean water to the building until Ames water is safe to drink.