Published: May 09, 2008 01:46 pm            

New Albany residents pursue help with drainage problems from Stormwater Board

Showers may bring flowers at this time of the year, but for a local couple, the rain just means another headache.

Dennis and Bonnye Feiock have been dealing with erosion issues on their property along Klerner Lane in New Albany for more than 20 years, they said.

Each time the waters rise and Slate Run Creek overflows, the couple sees a little bit of their property lost.

“We’ve put down tons of dirt and it’s just washing away,” Dennis Feiock said. “We need some help.”

Dirt is not all that washes away. Over the past two decades, the couple said they have lost around 30 trees, each more than 100 years old. The path they use to walk their horse is also in danger of being lost, and is impassable when flooded.

Heavy rains in April have once again made the problem a big issue for the couple.

They blame runoff from recent developments around the Mt. Tabor Road and Grant Line Road corridor for the problems.

“You can’t approve big projects without properly accounting for water retention,” Dennis Feiock said.

Bonnye Feiock said officials from the Department of Natural Resources have inspected their property in the past and advised against building a wall to block, or at least deflect water.

So the couple turned to the Stormwater Board on Thursday for answers.

It was not the first time they had approached the city for help, but Dennis Feiock believes the current board gets the message.

“I’ve written the past four administrations about this,” he said. “Now somebody’s listening.”

While they weren’t given a solution to their problem at the meeting, board Chairman Ron Carroll and member Brad Kessans listened attentively to their concerns and promised action in the future.

Other residents, such as Judy Jacobi who lives along West Daisy Lane, were in attendance at the meeting to talk about their stormwater drainage issues.

The complaints are compiled and then investigated by board members and Environmental Management Corp., the company in charge of sewer and stormwater management.

A prioritized-masterplan providing a blueprint for officials to use in solving drainage issues is being established.

“We may not be able to do them all at once, but we’re going to get them scheduled,” Carroll said.

Carroll said action might have to be taken before the masterplan is finished for those facing extreme problems.

Kessans said he will go with EMC Program Manager Brian Dixon to look at the Feiock and Jacobi properties in the next two weeks and report back, hopefully by the next scheduled meeting. He said the erosion issues and flooding the Feiocks are facing illustrates a “rapid” increase over recent years on the land.

Kessans added he wants the board to start following-up on complaints at the subsequently-scheduled meeting.

“At least bring it up in the next two weeks while it’s still fresh in my mind,” he said.

        

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