Thursday, September 08, 2005
Storm Water
This week I have been meeting with people between Clark Street and Zenith on the South side of the 2nd Ward. While speaking with nearly every resident two problems continued to rise. The first problem involves people driving well above the speed limit on Fairmount Avenue. According to residents this danger is greatly increased around 2:45pm when Davenport West High School dismisses its classes.
One concerned resident on Fairmount sits in a lawn chair every evening with a radar gun and documents the speed of travelers. He often reports speeds and license plate numbers to the Davenport Police Department. He seems to understand that the Davenport Police Department is overworked and overextended so he has decided to give them a hand.
A second reoccurring problem that has plagued many of the residents in this area involves an abundance of drainage water. If one were to look down Else, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, Gayman, and Zenith you would notice that each street tends to have a natural bow with houses in the middle of the streets residing at a lower elevation than those on the corners of Lombard, Locust, and Central Park. Naturally, water flows into these lower levels when it rains eroding foundations, flooding basements, and creating a stream that cuts across Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, and Gayman. One house on Gayman in particular during heavy rains in 1992 found a stream cutting through the backdoor through the living room and kitchen and out the front door.
Many houses along these streets have had to have foundation reconstruction and water damage work completed in their basements. This is a real problem that has continued despite a record drought. As history tends to tell us within three years of a drought in this area of the country we often see record rainfall and flooding. For the people of the South side of the Ward this can mean considerable damage to come and they know it.
Residents in this area have been asking for answers and it is interesting to see how some have been told that their problems are the result of a pesky underwater stream that spills out into the North side of the park on Gayman Avenue. Others have been told it is the result of faulty sewage lines.
In reality the sewage lines are too small to handle the number of homes that utilize the City’s sewer system. Simultaneously, land development projects that began in the early 1950’s and expanded westward continue to overlook the necessity to appropriately target water runoff. This can be seen today by the extensive runoff cutting into the development occurring on the corner of Central Park and Gayman.
Developers continuing to build large homes North of Emies must be held accountable for containing and channeling this water runoff. This is a problem that a future alderman in the ward must be aware of.
It is also interesting to note that the implementation of the Storm Water Fee and monies collected from it take no measures to fix this problem.
Shawn
One concerned resident on Fairmount sits in a lawn chair every evening with a radar gun and documents the speed of travelers. He often reports speeds and license plate numbers to the Davenport Police Department. He seems to understand that the Davenport Police Department is overworked and overextended so he has decided to give them a hand.
A second reoccurring problem that has plagued many of the residents in this area involves an abundance of drainage water. If one were to look down Else, Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, Gayman, and Zenith you would notice that each street tends to have a natural bow with houses in the middle of the streets residing at a lower elevation than those on the corners of Lombard, Locust, and Central Park. Naturally, water flows into these lower levels when it rains eroding foundations, flooding basements, and creating a stream that cuts across Michigan, Ohio, Nevada, and Gayman. One house on Gayman in particular during heavy rains in 1992 found a stream cutting through the backdoor through the living room and kitchen and out the front door.
Many houses along these streets have had to have foundation reconstruction and water damage work completed in their basements. This is a real problem that has continued despite a record drought. As history tends to tell us within three years of a drought in this area of the country we often see record rainfall and flooding. For the people of the South side of the Ward this can mean considerable damage to come and they know it.
Residents in this area have been asking for answers and it is interesting to see how some have been told that their problems are the result of a pesky underwater stream that spills out into the North side of the park on Gayman Avenue. Others have been told it is the result of faulty sewage lines.
In reality the sewage lines are too small to handle the number of homes that utilize the City’s sewer system. Simultaneously, land development projects that began in the early 1950’s and expanded westward continue to overlook the necessity to appropriately target water runoff. This can be seen today by the extensive runoff cutting into the development occurring on the corner of Central Park and Gayman.
Developers continuing to build large homes North of Emies must be held accountable for containing and channeling this water runoff. This is a problem that a future alderman in the ward must be aware of.
It is also interesting to note that the implementation of the Storm Water Fee and monies collected from it take no measures to fix this problem.
Shawn
# posted by Hamerlinck @ 10:24 AM 
