Pierceton Residents Not Holding Their Breath On Solution To Flooding Problem
May 6, 2017 at 2:56 a.m.
Pierceton Residents Not Holding Their Breath On Solution To Flooding Problem
By Dan [email protected]
Beth and Jesse Hite, who live at the corner of Wayne Street and Ind. 13 (also known as First Street), have sandbags set up near their garage because of continual flooding they say comes from a broken stormwater line in front of their house.
Problems were accentuated Thursday when heavy rains caused more flooding as rainwater gushed up through two catch basins along Ind. 13 and flooded the Hites’ side yard, then continued “like a river” to the south into Debbie Prater’s property, Beth Hite said.
The Hites’ crawl space was flooded and water nearly poured over sandbags that are lined up to protect their garage. Three pumps and an array of hoses were brought in by the town to move the water to the south and into a functioning catch basin.
Hite and Prater have been complaining to town officials and representatives of Indiana Department of Transportation since last fall when the road was repaved. Hite said she’s sent dozens of emails and made calls to the state and the town about the issue.
Hite contends officials knew of the broken drainage pipes last fall but did not make adequate repairs.
Representatives of the state and the town said they made attempts to fix the problem.
In 17 years, Prater said she’s never had standing water in the basement.
“Last year, we went through $500 in pumps and nobody would reimburse me,” Prater said.
Complicated Jurisdiction
A complicating issue in resolving the problem involves responsibility for the work. While the state maintains the road, infrastructure under the road is the town’s responsibility.
The drain pipes run under the curb and within the state’s right of way.
Town Council President Tom Barker said the drain pipes — also known as tile — were installed by the state in the 1940s and that records for those are incomplete. And yet, the town is responsible for the tile, he said.
Those circumstances, he said, create “an awkward situation.”
“We’re not trying to run from the situation as far as the town is concerned, but we’re not in a financial position to just open up the bank vault and do whatever it takes,” Barker said Thursday.
Nonetheless, Barker on Friday said he met with the town manager and that they are seeking a permit from the state so they can look into the matter and address the problem.
“I know it’s inconvenient for the Hites. We appreciate that that is a problem. We thought it was rectified in the fall,” he said.
He suggested the contractor hired by the state “did a hurried job,” knowing an election was looming. Some of the work had to be redone, he said.
“Sometimes things are done to get everything all polished up, whether it’s for the local parade or the election coming up, and I think that’s what happened to us,” Barker said.
A spokesperson for INDOT said the work met all standards and that they never received any complaints from the town.
Nichole Thomas, media relations director of INDOT’s Fort Wayne District, said the state went beyond the scope of the project to rectify the drainage problem.
“The work was in no way shoddy,” Thomas said.
Barker hinted Thursday that machinery used to remove old pavement, which he said causes a “tremendous amount of vibrations,” could have contributed to the damaged line.
Thomas disagreed with that assertion and noted that the machinery is widely used across the state without complaint.
After months of complaints, the state is well aware of the flooding problem, which is something the town needs to remedy.
“We have investigated the matter to the best of our abilities multiple times and have spoken to the homeowner and the municipality about what we see the problem being,” she said.
Barker admits the town’s infrastructure, like many municipalities, is aging and frail, but said the town does not have a specific fund to make repairs of that kind.
“I don’t mean to minimize the aggravation and problems for the Hites and Praters, but when you have a situation where there is only a couple of properties involved and (the cost to repair) could be into tens of thousands of dollars, we’ve got to balance that out and spend the money to approach the problem in the best possible way,” he said.
Hite was pessimistic when informed that the town plans to look into the matter possibly as soon as next week.
“I’m not going to hold my breath on that one,” she said.
A Bigger Problem?
If the flooding in her front yard and garage wasn’t enough, Hite thinks the problem in front of her house could be worse.
She said she thinks the damaged pipes associated with the flooding are causing a growing sinkhole below the asphalt in front of her driveway.
Last fall, they noticed a large cavity in the road during construction. While efforts to repair the hole were made, she and her husband think it still exists. She said they are able to stick a metal pole through a hole between the curb and driveway and can move the pole around underground.
She estimates the hole could be the size of a car.
Small cracks in the new pavement have begun to appear surrounding the area where Hite suspects the cavity is.
“What if the road collapses and somebody goes down in there?” she said.
The town and state are aware of her concerns.
Barker said he can’t confirm the problem. Thomas said the state was aware of a “void” during construction last year and that they addressed the problem.
“We’ve been out several times to check the integrity of the road and the road is fine,” she said.
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Beth and Jesse Hite, who live at the corner of Wayne Street and Ind. 13 (also known as First Street), have sandbags set up near their garage because of continual flooding they say comes from a broken stormwater line in front of their house.
Problems were accentuated Thursday when heavy rains caused more flooding as rainwater gushed up through two catch basins along Ind. 13 and flooded the Hites’ side yard, then continued “like a river” to the south into Debbie Prater’s property, Beth Hite said.
The Hites’ crawl space was flooded and water nearly poured over sandbags that are lined up to protect their garage. Three pumps and an array of hoses were brought in by the town to move the water to the south and into a functioning catch basin.
Hite and Prater have been complaining to town officials and representatives of Indiana Department of Transportation since last fall when the road was repaved. Hite said she’s sent dozens of emails and made calls to the state and the town about the issue.
Hite contends officials knew of the broken drainage pipes last fall but did not make adequate repairs.
Representatives of the state and the town said they made attempts to fix the problem.
In 17 years, Prater said she’s never had standing water in the basement.
“Last year, we went through $500 in pumps and nobody would reimburse me,” Prater said.
Complicated Jurisdiction
A complicating issue in resolving the problem involves responsibility for the work. While the state maintains the road, infrastructure under the road is the town’s responsibility.
The drain pipes run under the curb and within the state’s right of way.
Town Council President Tom Barker said the drain pipes — also known as tile — were installed by the state in the 1940s and that records for those are incomplete. And yet, the town is responsible for the tile, he said.
Those circumstances, he said, create “an awkward situation.”
“We’re not trying to run from the situation as far as the town is concerned, but we’re not in a financial position to just open up the bank vault and do whatever it takes,” Barker said Thursday.
Nonetheless, Barker on Friday said he met with the town manager and that they are seeking a permit from the state so they can look into the matter and address the problem.
“I know it’s inconvenient for the Hites. We appreciate that that is a problem. We thought it was rectified in the fall,” he said.
He suggested the contractor hired by the state “did a hurried job,” knowing an election was looming. Some of the work had to be redone, he said.
“Sometimes things are done to get everything all polished up, whether it’s for the local parade or the election coming up, and I think that’s what happened to us,” Barker said.
A spokesperson for INDOT said the work met all standards and that they never received any complaints from the town.
Nichole Thomas, media relations director of INDOT’s Fort Wayne District, said the state went beyond the scope of the project to rectify the drainage problem.
“The work was in no way shoddy,” Thomas said.
Barker hinted Thursday that machinery used to remove old pavement, which he said causes a “tremendous amount of vibrations,” could have contributed to the damaged line.
Thomas disagreed with that assertion and noted that the machinery is widely used across the state without complaint.
After months of complaints, the state is well aware of the flooding problem, which is something the town needs to remedy.
“We have investigated the matter to the best of our abilities multiple times and have spoken to the homeowner and the municipality about what we see the problem being,” she said.
Barker admits the town’s infrastructure, like many municipalities, is aging and frail, but said the town does not have a specific fund to make repairs of that kind.
“I don’t mean to minimize the aggravation and problems for the Hites and Praters, but when you have a situation where there is only a couple of properties involved and (the cost to repair) could be into tens of thousands of dollars, we’ve got to balance that out and spend the money to approach the problem in the best possible way,” he said.
Hite was pessimistic when informed that the town plans to look into the matter possibly as soon as next week.
“I’m not going to hold my breath on that one,” she said.
A Bigger Problem?
If the flooding in her front yard and garage wasn’t enough, Hite thinks the problem in front of her house could be worse.
She said she thinks the damaged pipes associated with the flooding are causing a growing sinkhole below the asphalt in front of her driveway.
Last fall, they noticed a large cavity in the road during construction. While efforts to repair the hole were made, she and her husband think it still exists. She said they are able to stick a metal pole through a hole between the curb and driveway and can move the pole around underground.
She estimates the hole could be the size of a car.
Small cracks in the new pavement have begun to appear surrounding the area where Hite suspects the cavity is.
“What if the road collapses and somebody goes down in there?” she said.
The town and state are aware of her concerns.
Barker said he can’t confirm the problem. Thomas said the state was aware of a “void” during construction last year and that they addressed the problem.
“We’ve been out several times to check the integrity of the road and the road is fine,” she said.
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