City fixes flooding in Sand Flats

For Anthony W. Lewis, the waterfront property he owned wouldn't have been so bad if it was on a lake or river.

Instead, the first-time homeowner learned after purchasing a single-story ranch house in January 2008 that a knee-high pond forms following each rainfall at the edge of his property where Palmer and Emmett streets intersect.

Enter the city Department of Public Works, which after more than a year of lobbying from Mr. Lewis has finished installing a storm-water catch basin along the intersection that will drain the water from the property.

"The water in the very front of the house would reach the driveway," Mr. Lewis said. "It's a great improvement. I'm glad the city finally came and did something about it. Now it's just a matter of waiting for next season. My wife and I plan on doing some real landscaping and putting some grass down.

DPW Superintendent Eugene P. Hayes said the city spent about $125,000 for the equipment, labor and materials for the project.

"It was wet over there, no doubt about it," Mr. Hayes said Friday. "We knew from day one we needed to get over there to do something about it."

He surmised that when the house was built, the land became contoured in a way that collected the water from the roadway and nearby properties.

"You'd think that since it was the Sand Flats that (the water) would drain out of there," Mr. Hayes said. "We kept digging and came up with sand and I still can't figure out why it was trapped in that area."

Mr. Lewis and his wife, Randie D., have recounted a number of horror stories about cars, trucks and buses getting stuck in the quagmire where the catch basin now sits.

"One of the buses, a school bus, got stuck in my yard. We had to call a tow truck to get it out," he said in May. "I've had people's dogs come and drink from the water; there are mosquitoes and all sorts of mold and algae that grow there."

Mr. Lewis said he is still concerned the section of pavement along Emmett Street — which Mr. Hayes said is about 10 feet wide by 800 feet long — that the DPW cut into to install the drainage pipe eventually will become uneven and upset neighbors.

"I would love the city and DPW not to forget about that street. It looks like they only dug up what they needed and not the entire street," Mr. Lewis said. "It took them that long to do my project; I don't want them to forget about that street. There's still work that needs to be done."

Mr. Hayes said the road should remain level for some time, but he is considering having a crew place a layer of pavement on the street if it becomes uneven.

"We just want to know that it's nice and even," Mr. Lewis said. "That's what everyone pays taxes for."