Sunday, June 7, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Monsooning
I am in my upstairs studio watching my property flood.
From this vantage point I can see three separate " waterfalls"
making a path through the retaining wall on the far side of the tennis court.
"pond" is transforming to "lake" rapidly.
Our property is a much higher elevation in the back, than at the front. There is a road up there, some swales at the low side of the street and, some pipes under the driveways for flow. There is no "flow" but the run off from properties on the high side of the street behind, plus the run off from 2 "T" streets is flowing all over us.
We have a new river along the left side of the house and, a new half acre pond where part of the front yard was. This new "pond" is about to encircle the giant Magnolia in the front yard. It is reportedly the largest Magnolia in the county and I am fearful it could fall. It is big enough it could fall and cleave our house something serious. Blowfish and I have been out thinking about using our unspread bags of mulch as sand bags to divert the flow away from our foundations. Blowfish has vetoed this option because he thinks the flow is so rapid it will move the mulch bags.
Blowfish got a big golf size umbrella and some boots and went out front to investigate things. He came back reporting a neighbors entire front yard is now a lake.
I am trying not to be too negative. This seems to be the year we are emerging from a 4 year drought. Every soul in this region who believes in prayer has been entreating for rain for years. We cannot now complain if the prayers are being so generously answered.
We live in the land of red clay, not anything you would rightly call "soil". It has been baked into a
ginormous brick these past drought years so not much absorption is happening.
Lots and lots of running water is happening. Lots of it. Rapidly.
What I have a grievance with is the county. Back a few years before the drought we had a run off issue so we went down to the county offices to put in a request for the relevant staff and equipment to come clean out the swales and the pipes to prevent any more property damage at the Pond. They couldn't come when it was raining they said. During the drought years we couldn't provide any photographs to prove our needs. So we were not successful in getting this issue addressed. Can't come when it's wet, won't come when it is dry. Frustrating. Very, very frustrating.
I guess it will be interesting to get up tomorrow and see if the retaining wall is still there.
It's looking doubtful at the moment.
Any of you bloggers have any advice for us on how to get the attention of the county?
Anybody know the legal particulars?
One of our neighbors has said the county will not fix the problem up here on our hill until they put in new sewers at the bottom of the hill to prevent flooding on a main road down there. Our neighbors say the county told them when the swales and pipes are cleared out up here, it causes a problem at the bottom of the hill and washes over the four lane down there. It is one of the main roads to the hospital so they "decided" to let our area do the suffering for the good of the
many.
I am not so fond of this idea.
Maybe I should write the Obamanation and mention I have a shovel ready project .
Might be the only benefit I will receive from the massively foolish debt rammed down my gullet.
From this vantage point I can see three separate " waterfalls"
making a path through the retaining wall on the far side of the tennis court.
"pond" is transforming to "lake" rapidly.
Our property is a much higher elevation in the back, than at the front. There is a road up there, some swales at the low side of the street and, some pipes under the driveways for flow. There is no "flow" but the run off from properties on the high side of the street behind, plus the run off from 2 "T" streets is flowing all over us.
We have a new river along the left side of the house and, a new half acre pond where part of the front yard was. This new "pond" is about to encircle the giant Magnolia in the front yard. It is reportedly the largest Magnolia in the county and I am fearful it could fall. It is big enough it could fall and cleave our house something serious. Blowfish and I have been out thinking about using our unspread bags of mulch as sand bags to divert the flow away from our foundations. Blowfish has vetoed this option because he thinks the flow is so rapid it will move the mulch bags.
Blowfish got a big golf size umbrella and some boots and went out front to investigate things. He came back reporting a neighbors entire front yard is now a lake.
I am trying not to be too negative. This seems to be the year we are emerging from a 4 year drought. Every soul in this region who believes in prayer has been entreating for rain for years. We cannot now complain if the prayers are being so generously answered.
We live in the land of red clay, not anything you would rightly call "soil". It has been baked into a
ginormous brick these past drought years so not much absorption is happening.
Lots and lots of running water is happening. Lots of it. Rapidly.
What I have a grievance with is the county. Back a few years before the drought we had a run off issue so we went down to the county offices to put in a request for the relevant staff and equipment to come clean out the swales and the pipes to prevent any more property damage at the Pond. They couldn't come when it was raining they said. During the drought years we couldn't provide any photographs to prove our needs. So we were not successful in getting this issue addressed. Can't come when it's wet, won't come when it is dry. Frustrating. Very, very frustrating.
I guess it will be interesting to get up tomorrow and see if the retaining wall is still there.
It's looking doubtful at the moment.
Any of you bloggers have any advice for us on how to get the attention of the county?
Anybody know the legal particulars?
One of our neighbors has said the county will not fix the problem up here on our hill until they put in new sewers at the bottom of the hill to prevent flooding on a main road down there. Our neighbors say the county told them when the swales and pipes are cleared out up here, it causes a problem at the bottom of the hill and washes over the four lane down there. It is one of the main roads to the hospital so they "decided" to let our area do the suffering for the good of the
many.
I am not so fond of this idea.
Maybe I should write the Obamanation and mention I have a shovel ready project .
Might be the only benefit I will receive from the massively foolish debt rammed down my gullet.
Monday, June 1, 2009
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