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BLENHEIM \u2013 In mid-April the water was ankle-deep in the backyard of Greg Bayly\u2019s home. It flowed out to the street in front of his home following massive rainfall.<\/p>\n
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Flood waters also filled the backyards of of his neighbours on Mango Lane, he said.<\/p>\n
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The rainwater flowed from a farm field located behind\u00a0 the homes in the subdivision, he said.<\/p>\n
Bayly said a ditch has been made to funnel water from a 40 acre field that drains into the neighbourhood, \u201coverwhelming the storm drain system that was designed for this subdivision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month\u2019s rainfall is the fourth time his backyard and basement have been flooded from water flowing off the farm field in the 16 years he\u2019s lived there.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
![\"Flooding,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0514-cd-drainage1.cd_.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n
Bayly said he first contacted the municipality before the COVID-19 pandemic trying to find a fix for the problem.<\/p>\n
He points to the Drainage Act for rules and regulations around water draining from a property having negative impacts on other properties.<\/p>\n
The Chatham Daily News has also contacted the municipality about the flooding issue.<\/p>\n
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South Kent Coun. Anthony Ceccacci said he spoke with municipal drainage staff about this problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe municipality is strictly limited to what they can do for remediation on private property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ceccacci said there needs to be a storm water master plan, but admits that is not an immediate fix to the problem.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the councillor said, \u201cWe just can\u2019t have this continuing to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless if it\u2019s on private property or regardless of what the issue is, we can\u2019t sit back on our hands and do nothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After seeing photos of the flooding himself, Ceccacci said, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to figure something out plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Flooding,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0514-cd-drainage4.cd_.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n
Bayly said he\u2019s been fortunate to be able to pay out of pocket for the flood damage and not have to go through insurance.<\/p>\n
But he is concerned for his neighbours, particularly the impact on their insurance rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not only being an advocate for myself, but I feel like I\u2019m being an advocate for my neighbours,\u201d Bayly said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s try to correct the problem so we\u2019re all happy. Then my neighbours are not going to have to replace their basements in another three or four years.\u201d<\/p>\n