Poland subdivision residents look for relief

Township officials are trying to address the problem.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Township officials are hoping to offer some relief to residents living in a subdivision here before the heavy rain and water associated with Hurricane Ivan hit the area.
Residents in the Canterbury Creek development told trustees at a meeting earlier this week that something had to be done about flooding in the community during periods of heavy rain.
Last week, as the remnants of Hurricane Frances blew through the area, several homes in the development flooded.
Township Administrator James Scharville said all five retention ponds in the development overflowed, sending water into lower areas of the street. He said the basement walls of one house caved in and another home had 6 feet of water in the basement.
Garage doors at many of the homes in the development Wednesday stood wide open with items once stored in basements drying in the wind. Water pumps and other devices could be seen in driveways or walkways at some homes and debris could be seen in large garbage containers at others.
"It was some of the heaviest rain and highest water we have seen," Scharville said. "There was nowhere for it to go, so it came down through Canterbury Creek."
Canterbury Creek resident Denise Machi knows exactly where the water went. A good amount of it, she said, filled her driveway, buckling the door to her garage. The Machis have experienced flooding three times since May.
Already started work
Scharville said township officials have already begun working on what they believe will alleviate some of the water problems in the development. He said township employees are in the process of clearing debris from the portion of the creek that runs along Dobbins Road near Poland Seminary High School, where much of the water would normally flow.
"Because it is causing such an emergency situation, we are cleaning it out right now," he said. "They are going to be out there for the next couple of days."
Scharville said the county usually takes care of cleaning out the creek, but county crews are busy and township officials want the work to be done before any more heavy rains sweep through the area. He said clearing a path for the water will hopefully curb some of the flooding up the road in Canterbury Creek.
Machi is hopeful that Scharville and township officials are right. She said the flooding is expensive.
Machi said a sports car parked in her garage during the last flood will not start and is in the shop. In the past three months, the family has installed a large drain to the rear of the house to carry some of the water and has spent about $500 buying sandbags and water pumps in preparation for the expected rains associated with Hurricane Ivan, she said.
Scharville said the township intends to seek Issue 2 money to deal with the problem.