While Velva residents hold their breath over the Mouse River's rampage this year, rural residents are also battling the high water.

Before the flooding started, we took you to the Johnston residence between Velva and Sawyer, where friends and neighbors helped build a temporary dike to protect the home last Thursday.

Now, the house is surrounded by water.

But, did the levee hold up? As of this afternoon, the house is dry but it's taking a lot of work even now to keep it that way.

Five pumps are running around the clock to keep the water at bay that is seeping up through the ground and septic system from backing up.

Emily Tescher Johnston says they were evacuated Monday because the flood water was cutting off access to their home from the south. They have been alloweed back home again, but she says the fight is far from over.

(Emily Tescher Johnston, Home Near Mouse River) "We know we have to run our pumps until the water is lower than the septic and so that's gonna be a long time and they need gas every hour and a half, so we pretty much have to have a crew on board all the time for pumps. Last night, the volunteer firemen from Velva came out so we could get some sleep and they brought 5 guys and they manned our pumps from midnight to five, so that was nice. On Monday, it was just crazy because we lost a culvert and the water went over a dike and it came over around this way and it was coming in from all sides. We don't want to say it can't get worse, because we've learned not to say that anymore." watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list