Buckeye venue dealing with floodwaters after SRP dam release
BUCKEYE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Hidden Lake is a venue that hosts live music, private events and weddings, but all of that is now on hold because of the mess the floodwaters left behind. “Our waters go up and we take care of it. This was something completely different. This was very unexpected for us,” said Jennifer Mladick, the owner of Hidden Lake. She says the constant rain in the Valley has taken a toll in more ways than one. “At 7:20 in the morning, when we arrived, to set up for an event we were having that night. The water was at the base of the bar already. By 3 [in the afternoon], the bar was already under water,” she said.
The main issue is they’re located just off the Gila River and the recent downpours caused planned upstream dam releases by SRP. She and her late husband bought the land in 2016 and have built it into what it is today. “We brought it back to life. We are now one of the most bird populated areas in the state of Arizona,” she said.
But as of Friday, she’s had to cancel upcoming events because of rain and flooding. “It’s our financial livelihood — to cancel our events — [it’s] how I pay my staff. We had two weddings last weekend we had to move. We have lots of events this weekend to that we’re racing to make sure this facility is beautiful for,” Mladick said.
She says a prom is being held at their venue this weekend, along with Matthew Richardson’s wedding. “They gave us a call on Monday letting us know due to the overflow of water, their whole venue was flooded,” Richardson said.
He’s been out for the past two days helping pick up. “Yeah it benefits us, but it also benefits so many other people. We know there is a prom this weekend as well too and so I get to work with students and seeing students will have a good event makes me excited to be out here helping,” he said.
Mladick is hoping more of the community that has supported them for years can donate time to help them get back on their feet. “I’m watching every warning we can. I get on everyday to make sure we don’t go under water again, but with the snowmelt coming it could happen again,” she said.
The National Weather Service still has a flood warning for the area in effect until Friday evening. Mladick just hopes the cold front moving in doesn’t bring more rain.
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