WATERTOWN, Conn. — Residents and business owners in the Oakville area of Watertown on the corner of Ball Farm Rd and Buckingham St are fed up after heavy rain that brought yet another round of flooding to their backyards causing damage to their homes and property.
Donna Hudobenko has lived in her home for 10 years, she told Fox61 every time it rains her property floods due to the brook behind her home. This is the 5th time just this month.
The piping that runs the brook under the property gets clogged frequently and residents say the town needs to get involved.
“We’ve called the town on numerous occasions to ask about that, we’ve tried to come together as a group to say this is not normal somethings wrong it’s not just a property owner problem,” said Hudobenko
The damage from Saturday’s storm left a portion of Hudobenko’s driveway in shambles.
Karen McGrath, a 40 year resident says she’s done just about everything to protect her property, including waterproofing her basement, but even her sub pump was no match for Saturday’s downpours, ending up with 8” of water in the basement.
“I just want to the town to take some responsibility. Our property values are shot how would I ever sell this house?” said McGrath.
FOX61 reached out to the town and was there when the town manager visited the home to get a look at the damage.
Mark A. Raimo, Watertown's Town Manager said in an email Wednesday, "We have determined that the pipe and brook are entirely on private property; the Town cannot assume any responsibility. However, the Town will be cleaning out the culvert and the pipe so that the flow for any additional water movement will not be restricted moving forward. This action should create relief for future storms, although it would not prevent flooding from a storm that drops 5 inches an hour. The Town has provided additional sandbags for the property owners to use as needed. Also, engineering and the highway departments will be inspecting the area next week when they schedule the cleaning of the culvert.
The importance of communication with the affected neighbors is vital to me, and I will be staying in contact with them to discuss bigger picture options moving forward."