(Ed. Note; This is a comment I have posted for better visibility.)
grumps has left a new comment on your post "Mailbag: Bill Connors Writes: Explains Video of W...": We had less than two inches of rain and yet had water levels approaching that of four years ago when we had more than 5 inches. The pond at the end of Vison, which Bill assured us would never have water standing in it has never been dry and is now full to overflowing.
I saw the PDB who bought that house out watching the level creep up to his foundation the other night. My kids looked at that house and I told them to run like bunnies.The Westfield Meadows pond was full. The flat "greenspace" was full. The Abey-Koth detention pond was full to overflowing back through all six of our backyards.The mitigation done by the City over the last two years certainly helped keep the water from risng to my deck again but the backup flowing south will only get worse. The Mountains of the Moon look of Westfield Meadows certainly slowed some of the water down to keep it from cresting the berm.
It ain't good, Bill and it ain't working like it's supposed to. Westfield Meadows has exacerbated the problem, just as we warned. To say that they are blameless here is a little disingenuous.
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I guess I do vaugely remember Mr. Sauer having concerns about flooding out Magnolia or whatever is south of Croft Road. I don't dispute that we shouldn't cast the problem downstream, not only from a legal perspective but also from a ethical/moral standpoint.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still maintain both retention ponds share a common avenue out of Evansville. Unless, the new retention area does not exit the same stream as the 6th street pond or has the ability/capacity to hold water until the 6th street pond is empty and it gets its chance to empty these issues are intertwined.
I really am having a hard time taking your comments too seriously, just 24 hours ago you proclaimed it is working as it should. Kind of remniscent of Barbara Bush proclaiming that living with 20,000 other people in the Astrodome was working well for Katrina victims.
That being said, I honestly do hope you are right and I am wrong, I don't want to be in a position of proclaiming "I told you so." If Westfield is contributing to the problem at this point, hopefully it is a minor speed bump due to the project not being finished. I remain unconvinced, but time will tell and I plan on continuing to document any problems I see as this proceeds. Hopefully I am making something out of nothing.
24 hours later the water has moved out of the backyards and headed downstream.
ReplyDeleteA couple of points
1) The Abey-Koth retention pond was an afterthought. It was put in by the city after the developer had washed his hands of the project.
2) The drainage ditch capacity has, indeed, been greatly improved in the last 4 years. It was not enough on Tuesday to allow the water to move out of our backyards.
3) Westfield Meadows has more runoff today than it did a year ago beacause of the lack of ground cover. That put more water into the entire sytem which had to find a way downstream. When the water reached its choke point it started backing up and wound up (among other places) in our backyards.
4) Shingles and blacktop from Westfield Meadows will speed even more water into the holding ponds. When it can't be cleared fast enough it will back up into Abey-Koth. See the movie.
5) On paper the system looks great. Water holds until the lower ground can handle it. In actuality, the water from Abey-Koth can't drain because of the volumes coming into the outlet from West field Meadows and points north. The north-south ditch along WM was never expanded. The project calls for that to be done later.
For four years, Bill, we have been screaming to our elected representatives that our yards are taking the brunt of the overflow from the north. Some mitigation has been done. Without that this two inch rain would have done the damage that a 5 inch rain did on the day Kendall went canoeing in my yard.
I'm getting tired of having 100 year floods every two or three years. Maybe we should look into running a pipeline to Waukesha. I hear that they're looking for a good source for water.
Run the water in the storm sewer where it belongs. These ponds do nothing but make a breeding grounds for insects you know, the ones that bite ya.
ReplyDeleteThe city DPW needs to not only clean out the ponds flow pipes but, the storm sewers around town. Seems like everytime it rains the storm sewers are clogged up.
These ponds are terrible. I would be upset too if I lived next to them. The water at the end of Vision was only about a few feets from the house the other day. Your kids could not even be out playing because you have to worry that they might drown in a yard!!!!!!!!
Again, the system worked 24 hours down the line.
ReplyDeleteI have been a big fan of the way that the improvements the City made have worked over the last two years in dealing with nominal amounts of rain.
They have regraded so that water can flow rater than getting stagnant.
The City has cleaned out the corn stalks and built a berm.
The City did extend the drain pipe ou into the detention pond and grade in a holding path for the water.
All of which they promised to do.
My point is that all of that means little when you've made a spillway out of the hill above us. The shared outlet can only handle so much water. That means that it has no choice but to flow back into the easment and into our backyards along it.
It's physics. Water will seek its own level. Add more water without expanding the outlet and the water level will rise.
Westside Water Update
ReplyDeleteI did contact Mr. Sauer (City Engineer) via email to ask what his findings were as far as the Culvert. I haven't had a response, but perhaps he took a long holiday weekend.
I copied both of my Alderman and Mr. Juergens was very quick to respond and has called for the Mayor to call a meeting for affected Residents, City Officials and Developers to discuss what needs to be done (he just sent this request via email this morning). Mr. Cothard (my other alderperson does not have an email address listed) so he will be receving the same concerns via snail mail this afternoon or Monday.
Has anyone heard if Mr. Sauer has had an opportunity to inspect the Culvert and if so what his findings were?