Just watched my neighbor's backyard flood after the storm drains clogged with leaves

Last week we got hit with that big storm and I saw my neighbor's whole yard turn into a pond within an hour. The thing is, the city never cleared the drains on our street, so all the leaves and branches just sat there blocking everything. Three years ago I actually called the city about this same issue after a similar storm, and they said they'd put it on a list. Nothing ever happened. Now my neighbor is looking at foundation repair bills because water seeped into his basement. The drain in question is right at the corner of Maple and 5th, and I've watched it overflow during heavy rain at least 6 times since 2021. How do we actually get cities to maintain their stormwater systems before it's too late?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_brian17d ago

Feel for your neighbor, that sucks... city folks never seem to see the problem until it's way too late.

rubys8017d ago

My cousin lives in Austin and his street floods every summer now because they paved over all the drainage ditches for those fancy townhouses. The city council spent 3 million on a park fountain instead of fixing the runoff problem. People in those new builds have sump pumps running 24/7 just to keep their basements dry. Meanwhile the older houses on my cousins block keep getting mold issues that nobody will help with. Its always the working class neighborhoods that pay for the city's bad planning.

emmawood17d ago

Oh come on, a little water never hurt anyone. Sure it's annoying when your basement gets damp but foundation repair sounds dramatic. There's puddles every time it rains hard and the world keeps spinning. Maybe your neighbor should have checked his gutters before blaming the city for some leaves. I swear people love turning minor inconveniences into disasters just to have something to complain about.