Case Date:

4/13/2020

Dear Mr. Howard, Mr. Peden, Mr. Meyers, and Mr. Rollo, We are the property-owners at 2017 E Marilyn Dr. abutting Mr. Howard’s residential construction project at 1110 S. Covenanter Dr (http://howardshomeimprovement.com). We're writing because we're concerned about the addition of gravel this past week to Mr. Howard’s lot, raising it several feet above our property, creating what looks sure to become a pond of run-off water along the eastern edge of our property and causing likely flooding at the southern edge. A marshy meadow that used to collect water on Mr. Howard’s property has been shifted onto our property. In order to get a sense of the impacts and the city’s review of them, we are hoping to talk with Mr. Howard and a city inspector before further work proceeds. We are also concerned that the property line has not been staked and our property is being used for construction staging, with considerable removal of vegetation and possible spreading of gravel across the property line. Here is a rough calculation of the drainage runoff from Mr. Howard’s property onto ours: The raised area is 30’+60’+10’=100' X 12’ = 1200 sq ft (at the side) and 22’ + 12’ = 34’ X 10’ = 340’ sq ft (at the back) = 1540 sq ft (total). At an average 5” rainfall in May, that would create 4,800 gallons or 640 cu ft of runoff. Annually, rainfall is about 50” so the runoff would be about 48,000 gallons or 6400 cu ft per year. But with climate change we suspect those amounts are going to increase (rainfall for every month this year has exceeded the norm). We arrived at this estimate using the USGS rainfall calculator: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-howmuchrain.html And we used rainfall estimates from: https://www.weather.gov/ind/Precip_scorecard_IND For the raised area of Mr Howard’s property, we used the schematics attached below. We also have attached photographs showing the construction staging on our property, and the effect of the land build-ups on the east side of our property line. Thank you for your help, Ben and Jenny Robinson

Case Date:

4/17/2018

I received the following email: Last year, you helped me and my neighbors deal with some of the water runoff plaguing our yards by installing a new storm sewer manhole. At the time, you mentioned the possibility of adding another slotted drain higher up on the alley to deal with the water that comes down the alley and into my yard. Do you think this is a possibility in the near future? In April, my backyard again was badly flooded with water coming in two streams: down the alley and from Woodlawn. BoI have discussed with Thrasher Landscaping possible remedies. They would involve adding pipes that would attach to the city pipes in my front yard. I am contacting you to see if this is possible. We need to be careful to aid damaging the existing city pipes that run through my side yard. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again for the help you provided last summer.

Case Date:

5/24/2022

I have a problem on my property with drainage. The drainage of my property runs off naturally into my neighbor's yard. His address is 3514 Morningside Drive. When a storm comes, his back yard pools and remains there for a few days until it is absorbed into the ground. I discussed with one of the neighbors how this might be resolved and volunteered to help pay for pipes that would carry the water that pools in their yard to the ditch along Morningside Drive. The neighbor didn't think that would work. Now they have dug out a deeper hole in their yard and are installing a "Sponge Garden." My understanding is that this will retain water and will not allow my yard to drain. This area has backed up into my basement in the past and flooded it. It seems to me that this will occur more easily with the installment of the "Sponge Garden." I appeal to the city of Bloomington to send engineers to come and see if there is some way that water can be drained into the ditch along Morningside Drive.