Pierceton Resident Fights Water Woes
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Tim [email protected]
The Steinkes' property flooded after heavy rains and high temperatures Monday night.
The problem: The catch basin on Steinkes' property will not drain water, and neither the town of Pierceton nor Kosciusko County will fix it.[[In-content Ad]]Pierceton Street Superintendent Chip Hill said the drain does not belong to the town, and the town does not have a storm sewer budget.
"Financially, it's not something that is feasible," Hill said. "For us to do anything with the storm sewers, we have to pick up money from another fund and hope that we don't need those funds."
Hill said the town has no record of when the Steinkes' drain was installed or by whom it was installed.
Kosciusko County Surveyor Dick Kemper said the drain does not belong to the county either.
"It is not county regulated," Kemper said. "We can't work on anything that is not county regulated."
The drain crosses under 2nd Street and connects to a county drain called the Fluke Hansen drain. Kemper said, even if the Steinkes' drain was county regulated, a county ordinance requires towns to maintain any sections of drains that cross under town streets or other right of ways. He said he thinks Pierceton should make a public policy to clarify to residents that they will not receive help from the town on storm sewer problems.
Both Hill and Kemper said the drain on the Steinkes' property has been a problem for several years. Kemper said it is likely that the drain was built before the existence of county drain regulations. He said there are numerous drains in the county with no record of ownership or responsibility for maintenance.
Veronica Steinke said there was still about 6 inches of water in the crawl space of her house this morning. She said her husband rented a pump after the town street department removed their own pump because the water from the Steinkes' property was flooding a neighbor's house Tuesday.
Steinke said her property flooded in August 2007 and also in early January. She said after the first time their property flooded, she and her husband took precautions, including building an incline of 10 to 20 tons of rocks, but it did not keep the water out. Steinke said her property collects runoff from the Pierceton Fire Hall less than a block away and other neighboring properties.
Steinke said she and her husband plan to attend the Pierceton Town Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss possible solutions to their flooding problems.
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The Steinkes' property flooded after heavy rains and high temperatures Monday night.
The problem: The catch basin on Steinkes' property will not drain water, and neither the town of Pierceton nor Kosciusko County will fix it.[[In-content Ad]]Pierceton Street Superintendent Chip Hill said the drain does not belong to the town, and the town does not have a storm sewer budget.
"Financially, it's not something that is feasible," Hill said. "For us to do anything with the storm sewers, we have to pick up money from another fund and hope that we don't need those funds."
Hill said the town has no record of when the Steinkes' drain was installed or by whom it was installed.
Kosciusko County Surveyor Dick Kemper said the drain does not belong to the county either.
"It is not county regulated," Kemper said. "We can't work on anything that is not county regulated."
The drain crosses under 2nd Street and connects to a county drain called the Fluke Hansen drain. Kemper said, even if the Steinkes' drain was county regulated, a county ordinance requires towns to maintain any sections of drains that cross under town streets or other right of ways. He said he thinks Pierceton should make a public policy to clarify to residents that they will not receive help from the town on storm sewer problems.
Both Hill and Kemper said the drain on the Steinkes' property has been a problem for several years. Kemper said it is likely that the drain was built before the existence of county drain regulations. He said there are numerous drains in the county with no record of ownership or responsibility for maintenance.
Veronica Steinke said there was still about 6 inches of water in the crawl space of her house this morning. She said her husband rented a pump after the town street department removed their own pump because the water from the Steinkes' property was flooding a neighbor's house Tuesday.
Steinke said her property flooded in August 2007 and also in early January. She said after the first time their property flooded, she and her husband took precautions, including building an incline of 10 to 20 tons of rocks, but it did not keep the water out. Steinke said her property collects runoff from the Pierceton Fire Hall less than a block away and other neighboring properties.
Steinke said she and her husband plan to attend the Pierceton Town Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to discuss possible solutions to their flooding problems.
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