MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. – A family insists a drainage ditch from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is causing their land to flood, despite INDOT’s refusal to shoulder responsibility.
While the family is frustrated, this is important lesson for anyone trying to buy a home.
We first reported on this back in May: Just outside Monrovia near I-70, the property sits on 6 acres of land that’s often covered in water and mud, seeming to come from INDOT drainage.
After weeks of back-and-forth, INDOT is now saying the flooding is a simple result of the shape of the land.
“Even if the interstate (weren’t) there, it would still pond there, because that’s the natural flow of the drainage ditch,” INDOT Crawfordsville District Deputy Commissioner Alan Plunkett told RTV6.
Plunkett says the family’s land flooded before the interstate was even there. He says he’s spent a lot of time researching topographical maps of the area to make sure INDOT got it right.
He says before I-70 was built in 1963, water naturally drained into the land, and was doing so roughly 10 years ago when the Lamb Family moved onto the property.
“Nothing’s changed, and that’s what these plans show,” Plunkett said.
But Peggy Lamb, daughter to the couple whose land keeps flooding, says she believes the drainage is still the responsibility of Indiana, not her parents.
“I want to see INDOT revert the water and fix my mom’s property – make things right,” Peggy said. “Even if that ditch is from the ’60s, it’s still theirs, and still worn out. Maintain your ditch.”
Peggy says she called the governor’s office and now plans to hire a lawyer after hearing INDOT’s refusal to take care of the flooding.
As far as what we can all learn from this: It goes back to the unfortunate need for buyers to beware.
Even if a home you’re thinking of buying isn’t in a flood zone, the property could have flooding issues.
Your best bet before purchasing a property is to contact your county surveyor or local drainage board. Ask them for information about the land and make sure to ask for any red flags.
This has been an update to our previous story below, first published on May 16, 2016.
-----
MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. – A family is describing its once-idyllic backyard as a murky, muddy mess, and they’re placing the blame for the destruction on the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Just outside of Monrovia near Interstate 70, their house sits on 6 acres of property that’s now covered in water and mud.
“It’s deep, nasty, mosquito-infested – we can’t even sit on the back porch because it’s so bad,” Peggy Lamb told RTV6.
Lamb lives with her parents on the property, where they’ve been for the last 10 years. And for the last 3 of those years, it’s been a messy quagmire.
When she moved back in with her parents a few months ago, she says she finally realized why it’s so swampy.
She took a hike through the property and it led her to a drainage ditch – one of two built by INDOT – that happens to be directing water from the interstate direction onto her parents’ plot of land.
“Every time it rains – even a little rain (floods),” she said.
After taking just a few steps into her parents’ back yard, RTV6’s Anne Kelly was ankle-deep in mud.
It’s especially bad after the weekend rains, which you can see in photos attached to this story.
Lamb says her family first contacted INDOT about all of this back in February. Four months later, nothing has been done, and she says she’s fed up and hurting for her parents.
“They’re losing their whole dream. It’s going down the drain because nobody wants to fix anything,” she said. “You call and call – so what do we do next?”
We went to INDOT with the issue and officials were up-front, saying they are aware of the drainage issue.
INDOT says fixing the problem is now a top priority, but says it can’t start work until the land is dry. Crews will re-grade the ditch line, build blocks and re-direct the water, we’re told.
Meanwhile, Lamb says despite all that she is still not hopeful. She says for months she has been hearing excuse after excuse from INDOT on why it can’t be addressed right away.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the situation to make sure it gets taken care of.
-----
Follow Anne Kelly on Twitter: @annekellyrtv6 | Facebook: AnneKellyRTV6
