POULSBO — This was not a job for an ordinary wet or dry vac.

Poulsbo Public Works employees used a big hose connected to a vactor truck to suck up detritus — debris and cobbles — that had collected over the year near a troublesome culvert at 8th Avenue and Iverson Street, Sept. 29.

Public Works foreman Joe Walker said the work will improve the flow of the south fork of Dogfish Creek as it heads under 8th Avenue on its way through Centennial Park and Poulsbo Village en route to the creek’s main stem.

A survey of the city’s culverts lists this one as the most problematic; the stream frequently overflows here during the rainy season. The stream bed on the other side of the culvert is equally troublesome. It’s narrow and shallow, and there’s evidence the creek historically flowed over the property where a now-vacant, flood-prone, two-story house is located.

Mayor Becky Erickson said she hopes the city can buy the house — which is in foreclosure — and remove it so the stream can be restored. The stream bed is currently shored up with sandbags.

The stream also overflows into the Public Works yard on the other side of the creek. Public Works will vacate that site for another site being developed on Viking Way north of Highway 305.