HARRISON TWP. — It’s not unusual for the drainage ditches in Mercedes Thomason’s Harrison Twp. neighborhood to fill up when it rains, but she and her neighbors claim they are not effective. They claim the water is overflowing into their yards and even into their homes.
On Monday, Thomason was frantically working to keep the floodwaters out of her basement, where she just set up a home office. She told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that she was using a water pump every 30 minutes to drain her window wells and limit the water damage.
“If we could just get storm drains serviced, something, or give us some sort of solution,” Thomason said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”
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Thomason said the recent flooding damaged her home office and her children’s game room.
She said her home has flooded at least three times this year alone.
Neighbors told News Center 7 that many others on Thomason’s side of the street face a similar issue. There are gates and drainage systems in place, but neighbors said they don’t think it’s adequate.
“For this area, for anything else, other than historic rainfall which we’re experiencing, should be adequate,” Merle Cyphers, Harrison Twp. Service Department Director, said.
Cyphers said this neighborhood, off North Dixie Drive, has a combination of open ditches and underground piping. It’s standard, but the Miami Valley has had two record rainfalls in the last two weeks. Debris could play a role, but they are serious about monitoring.
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“We do clean the ditches every year, we check all the catch basins and drains yearly,” Cyphers said.
He said the system is overwhelmed under heavy rainfall.
Now, Thomason is vacuuming water inside, pumping water outside and hoping the township can help her fight Mother Nature.
“We just need some help in this neighborhood,” she said.
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