INDIANAPOLIS -- An east side homeowner is concerned a nearby construction project is causing flooding and drainage problems at his house and others.
Chris Keys has lived along Fall Creek Parkway North, a 100-year flood zone, for six years.
He’s had a few problems with flooding in those six years, but nothing like he’s experienced since construction began on a nursing home project next door.
“In the last four months, we’ve had a lot of issues with the floods,” said Keys. “At the worst, the water was probably thigh level when I was standing in my driveway and it wrapped all the way around the house and both of my half basements had three feet of standing water.”
Keys said the area where the nursing home is being built used to be roughly the same height as his property, however, the builder brought in truckloads of dirt to put the building on higher ground.
“When I moved in, it was all trees and wooded area and it spread out all the way to Binford Boulevard,” said Keys.
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Keys said the current system flows water runoff toward his house, rather than moving water away from his house.
“It runs underneath Fall Creek Parkway on our side of the road, and then runs down the drain system to my house, and I am now the lowest point because they’ve built up about eight feet of dirt,” said Keys.
Keys said he’s spent $30,000 to buy sand bags, water pumps and other contraptions to try to keep the water out of his house.
He said he filed a complaint with the Mayor’s Action Center but said no one responded.
The City of Indianapolis approved the nursing home construction plans in 2015, according to Dimitri Kyser, spokesperson for the Indianapolis Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, formerly the Department of Code Enforcement.
“We are aware of it, and have received complaints about it since this spring” said Kyser. “It is possible there has been additional runoff as a result of the project. The builder is addressing it.”
Kyser said the builder is expected to put in a flap gate which they hope will control and direct the amount of water from high rains into an area opposite where the homes are located, so that the water does not pool.
He said the project has been built according to city codes and project specifications.
Call 6 Investigates spoke with the builder Monday but he said he was unavailable to meet for an on camera interview, and offered to meet with RTV6 later this week to talk about the drainage complaints.
