Homeowners in Country Club Estates looking for some help for water drainage in their area were in attendance at the March Newcastle City Council meeting. Their discussion with council members has now led to the City taking a fresh look at engineering in the area, and possibly doing some future modifications of drainage entering the housing addition.
City Manager Kevin Self said the City has been talking about drainage there for the last 18 months. He said the drainage issue is on the north part of the subdivision, and that concrete road panels there are beginning to break up and are being undermined.
Problems in the subdivision include that the area was originally platted with open ditches, but many have been filled in, and tinhorns of various sizes installed. According to city council members these did not receive City approval. Homeowners dispute that saying a City inspector approved the underground drainage systems.
Self told Council members that many of the drainage areas were leveled off by homeowners so they could more easily care for mowing. He said now the drain boxes are filled in and the roadways are being undermined. He said the new drainage is being diverted from its original direction as intended by the subdivision’s original engineering.
Area resident Chuck Perry, who is a homeowner and also on the homeowners’ association, addressed the Council saying there are about 41 homes in the subdivision, and 21 of those have some type of underground drainage system where culverts are connected together. He said it is his understanding that a City employee approved of them when they were installed.
DRAINAGE on page 3 Perry added that builders put in tinhorns when some of these houses were originally built, and he believes it’s not fair for the homeowners “to have to rip out something the builders put in 15 years ago.”
A recent letter from the City of Newcastle Street Department which was sent to homeowners noted that homeowners must, at their expense, take out the underground tinhorns and recreate the drainage ditches.
“We know there’s some corrective action that the HOA can take care of, but the streets are not our forte, and we didn’t do anything to cause this,” Perry said.
Now, because of the amount of water going down both 35th Terrace and 35th Place, along with the lack of curbs, water is apparently seeping underneath the roads and undermining the concrete.
Sand which was once under the roadway is now at the bottom of the street where it accumulates.
Homeowner Craig Smith told the Council he has taken videos of the streets in the area when it is raining. He said the pitch of the streets is about a 15-degree angle, and the water, because of the angle, cannot go its intended route.
“It’s humming down the street and the water doesn’t actually run off the side of the street,” Smith said. “Water gets underneath the street, creating erosion of three- and four-inch gaps.”
He added that 35th Terrace is angled opposite of how the street drains, and that also creates a sinkhole.
Also when originally built, the subdivision had a 20-foot drainage easement that ran straight west in between the lots all the way to the pond. At some point, the City put a curb in to stop that drainage, according to Self.
He said now there are swimming pools and other obstructions in the easement, and if a new look at the engineering of the area determines that the easement should have remained open, that would present a problem.
While several related issues were discussed in the Council meeting, City officials were sure of the subdivisions’ original engineering on open drainage ditches.
Council member Mike Fullerton said the majority of the ditches have been removed, and pipes or culverts used on the driveways were too small. Both Fullerton and council member Gene Reid said the drainage ditches there should not have been covered or modified.
Mayor Karl Nail said, “The drainage pipes that are in place are not a long-term solution. They are not the right material, they were not engineered, and they were not installed by the City.”
He said the when the City accepted the road, it had open ditches.
The City’s engineer agreed, saying the City’s ordinance requires that the open drainage — or bar ditches — be maintained by the property owners.
Property owners said they believe that holding the homeowners responsible isn’t right. They said the home builders installed the drainage systems, and they were approved by the City Inspector at the time. They believe the City bears some responsibility for approving the drainage systems.
They noted that they would like to see the following solutions: • Repair the top of 35th Place and 35th Terrace where water is entering and causing the erosion and crumbling streets.
• Complete the curb the city built at the tops of 35th Place and 35th Terrace to stop the erosion where the road meets the grass.
• Add additional curbs as needed in strategic locations.
• Properly fix the patch jobs that have already been made.
• Proper future maintenance and repairs by the City Street Department.
Homeowners also stated that their homeowners’ association will work to rectify any homeowner-related maintenance.
Self said he would like to have an engineering study done on the area, but he wanted to take time for the City’s staff to discuss it first.
“Let’s do an internal look at it first, before we get into a major engineering study,” Self said.
He added, “We’re spending the people’s money.”
Nail agreed, saying the City should do an “internal broad look at the drainage for a start,” and maybe take measures to do a “band aid until we can determine a longrange plan.”
Self said the City’s interim engineer is putting together an assessment of the area.
“It’s not going to be a rapid assessment of things out there,” Self said. “It will take him some time to take measurements and put numbers together.”
Self said he doesn’t know when the engineer will complete his work, but hopefully it will be “sooner than later.”
He said, “We won’t be able to get anything done prior to the spring rain season, but we’ll move as quick as we can to see what needs to be done out there and report that back to the Council so they can make a decision.”
