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BLENHEIM – In mid-April the water was ankle-deep in the backyard of Greg Bayly’s home. It flowed out to the street in front of his home following massive rainfall.
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Flood waters also filled the backyards of of his neighbours on Mango Lane, he said.
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The rainwater flowed from a farm field located behind the homes in the subdivision, he said.
Bayly said a ditch has been made to funnel water from a 40 acre field that drains into the neighbourhood, “overwhelming the storm drain system that was designed for this subdivision.”
Last month’s rainfall is the fourth time his backyard and basement have been flooded from water flowing off the farm field in the 16 years he’s lived there.
He also lost some of the fish from his backyard pond in the latest flooding and had a huge mess to clean up from the muck left behind when the water receded.
Blenheim resident Greg Bayly stands near a catch basin on the edge of a farm field behind his Mango Lane home. Last month, his backyard and basement flooded from water flowing off the farm field. (Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News) jpg, CD, apsmc
Bayly said he first contacted the municipality before the COVID-19 pandemic trying to find a fix for the problem.
He points to the Drainage Act for rules and regulations around water draining from a property having negative impacts on other properties.
The Chatham Daily News has also contacted the municipality about the flooding issue.
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South Kent Coun. Anthony Ceccacci said he spoke with municipal drainage staff about this problem.
“The municipality is strictly limited to what they can do for remediation on private property,” he said.
Ceccacci said there needs to be a storm water master plan, but admits that is not an immediate fix to the problem.
In the meantime, the councillor said, “We just can’t have this continuing to happen.
“Regardless if it’s on private property or regardless of what the issue is, we can’t sit back on our hands and do nothing,” he said.
After seeing photos of the flooding himself, Ceccacci said, “We’ve got to figure something out plain and simple.”
Blenheim resident Greg Bayly took this photo showing flooding in the backyard of his Mango Lane home after rainfall in mid-April. The water flowed from a farm field located behind homes on Mango Lane. (Supplied photo) jpg, CD, apsmc
Bayly said he’s been fortunate to be able to pay out of pocket for the flood damage and not have to go through insurance.
But he is concerned for his neighbours, particularly the impact on their insurance rates.
“I’m not only being an advocate for myself, but I feel like I’m being an advocate for my neighbours,” Bayly said.
“Let’s try to correct the problem so we’re all happy. Then my neighbours are not going to have to replace their basements in another three or four years.”
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