Huntingburg Council: Flooding near new housing development could be easy fix

According to Vickie Lewis, a resident in Redbud Court in Huntingburg, the flooding that inundated her cul-de-sac and the neighboring Dogwood Court on July 4th is nothing new.

The ditch south of the subdivision located off of 19th Street has been flooding since at least 1999.

With the flooding on July 4 and the new development, Hunters Crossing, on the other side of the ditch seen as potentially exacerbating the situation, residents from the area filled the seats at the Huntingburg Common Council meeting Tuesday to hear some solutions.

Fortunately, Nathan Waggner, of Cash Waggner & Associates, felt he had identified four issues that could alleviate much of the drainage problem. And, those issues could be a relatively easy fix.

Waggner found that downstream from the residential area, logs had caused a buildup of debris creating two impediments. Those impediments which were holding back up to six feet of water in one and four feet of water in another. These have also cause sediment to settle creating narrowing areas in the channel and restricting flow.

Additionally, Waggner found corn stalks had accumulated underneath a bridge crossing the ditch on County Road 400W. He estimated the corn stalks and resulting sediment under the bridge had created a 30 to 40 percent blockage of the flow.

He also identified a sediment accumulation along a bank about 45 yards upstream from the 400W bridge that had narrowed the ditch to about a quarter of its original width.

Waggner also cited severe weather events over the past 10 years that have had a greater amount of rainfall in short timeframes as an additional consideration in researching the drainage issues.

“Over the last decade storm events have noticeably become more severe, with stronger winds, greater amount of rainfall and in even shorter durations,” he wrote in his report to the city. “These events can quickly overload  hydrologic systems causing flooding which then leads to erosion, crop loss, and the damage of property.”

Waggner recommended the city, county and landowner, Farbest, work to remove the identified restrictions to improve the flow. He also recommended a subsequent study be completed about every three years to ensure the ditch remains open.

The city and county have begun plans to remove the impediments and then add vegetation to mitigate the ditch bank erosion.

According to Mayor Denny Spinner, Farbest has pledged to begin work on their portion of the ditch once the crops abuting it are harvested.

The council approved the work.

Also at the meeting:

-Council approved the Dubois County Airport Authority’s annual budget. Huntingburg Airport Manager Travis McQueen presented the Dubois County Airport Authority budget to the Huntingburg Common Council. McQueen also invited the council and public to attend Friday’s rededication ceremony of the airport’s terminal building to Frosty Jones; the ceremony is set for 5:30 p.m. at the airport.

-Heard the Huntingburg Housing Authority had qualified for a $500,000 grant through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. The grant will be used to pay for updates and repairs to Friendship Village. According to director Heidi Reller, that includes replacing roofs, adding handicap accessible units, replacing flooring and adding an outdoor area that is handicap accessible.

-Heard from Christopher Neu, who lives on the 300 block of Jackson Street, about drainage and flooding concerns at his property. The recent discussion regarding a proposed 40-unit development near Neu’s residence has cause him some concerns regarding an ongoing problem at his home. Neu submitted an engineering report he commissioned in 2011 regarding water in his basement. He attests that the water samples contain chlorine and fluorine — chemicals used in water treatment. He said the water is found in his basement during the dry months and he suspects it could be an issue with the city’s water. Mayor Denny Spinner told Neu that since he had received the 2011 engineering report last week, he had attempted to track down what, if anything, was done by previous administrations. He assured Neu that any utility issues in the area would be resolved to support the development.

-Heard the final Huntingburg 5-5-5 5K fun run/walk is this Friday at 5 p.m.