Published: June 27, 2009 12:57 am      

Tye Avenue resident wants solutions to flooding problems

Flood waters invaded James Allen’s home Friday morning, but it’s not like the Floyd County resident didn’t see it coming.

Allen and his wife petitioned the county and New Albany stormwater boards in recent months about drainage problems they say have been getting worse around their 4032 Tye Ave. home.

One of their neighbors saw her house flooded during the spring, and Allen said displaced water in the area — which is near Interstate 265 — doesn’t seem to have anywhere else to go but their subdivision. He purchased flood insurance after seeing the damage his neighbor incurred.

His house was built five years ago, but Allen believes that was a mistake. Despite planners giving him the OK to build at the site, Allen said the property was not properly identified as a risk.

“I’m not in the flood plain, but it should have been in the flood plain,” he said. “There never should have been a house built here.”

Allen encountered confusion over which stormwater department has jurisdiction over his property — the county or the city. The Tye Avenue house is in the county, but the answers Allen got haven’t satisfied him.

“I don’t know why we should be paying a runoff tax and a higher sewage bill for something we’re not getting anything for at all,” he said.

Friday was the first time water penetrated his home, as heavy rains pushed water into his garage, flooding a car and truck and causing other damage.

Floyd County engineer Bob Frederick spoke with a Tye Avenue resident and told her the problem is backed-up stormwater ditches on private property.

“It’s hard for the county to go onto private property to clean this up,” he said.

Chris Moore, of the Floyd County Stormwater Department, said the city and county usually shy away from addressing issues outside of the right-of-ways.

Last September’s windstorm resulted in a multitude of debris in waterways, including the creek that runs through several properties along Tye Avenue, Moore said.

The downed limbs and trees on private property coupled with recent downpours is making for difficult situations in many parts of the county.

“It’s the second wettest June on record so we’re going to have some flooding, unfortunately,” Moore said.

Frederick suggested the neighborhood contact the property owner who has debris blocking the creek and ditches on Tye Avenue. He said sometimes people don’t realize when they throw limbs into a creek or ditch, they could be hurting their neighbors.

Allen worries that if more houses are added near his residence, that flooding problems will continue to get worse. He said there are issues beyond backed-up drains that should be addressed.

“All they want to talk about is buying cameras and running them down the storm drain to see if anything is backing them up,” Allen said. “We’ve got serious problems.”

Water gets three feet above the stormwater drain under I-265, which was meant to hold runoff for the neighborhood, according to Allen.

Frederick said the county clears blocked ditches where the water could impact roads and culverts, but added cleaning private property could lead to the department being swamped with calls for services the county doesn’t have the means to cover.

He encouraged residents to make sure they are disposing of yard wastes properly to alleviate unnecessary flooding. He said many of these problems will be addressed during the county’s next stormwater meeting, which is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. July 7.

“We’re trying to do everything we can,” he said.