DRAINAGE ISSUES
At the Thursday, April 27, 2023, Public Services Meeting, Public Services Director Ken Unger said that because of heavy rainfall, we have a lot of drainage issues in the village. A lot of residents are doing things in the ditches that impede drainage. This can cause problems for neighbors. An example is a grate installed by the POA that is supposed to allow drainage to the lake. A property owner, without permission, built in the grate. Water that should drain into the grate now flows across the road and floods out his neighbor.
Some people are not maintaining driveway culverts, which is causing culvert blockage. This also can wash out their downstream neighbors.
Installation of rocks or gravel in ditches can affect the ability of the ditch to drain properly. Permits have been approved in some of the cases. When you make the ditch flat by adding gravel, this is a problem. To help prevent drainage problems, the ditch should be dug out to the depth of the height of the planned gravel installation before the gravel is laid. Unger said, “We don’t always drive details when we approve things.”
Debris in common property ditches is also a problem. Cleaning out these types of things is very time-consuming for staff.
Unger said he would talk to the Board about strengthening culpability for residents’ responsibilities to maintain culverts located on their property. The homeowner owns driveway culverts, and they cannot impede drainage in the right of way.
Contact Information for HSVPOA Public Services Director
Ken Unger
Director Public Services
Hot Springs Village
501-226-9609
Kunger@hsvpoa.org
By Cheryl Dowden
