Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Prattville has long lived up to the name as the Fountain City, where flowing water is plentiful. However, some Prattville residents want answers on how to keep the water out of their back yards.
Local and state representatives met in Prattville Thursday morning, where residents of Bent Tree Court showed them ongoing issues of persistent flooding and standing water in their back yards. Representatives included legislators and representatives of Alabama Department of Economics and Community Affairs (ADECA), a Prattville council member and city staff.
This issue is nothing new and has been happening for the last five years, Bent Tree Court residents stated. The standing water from an easement that runs through their back yards, and an underground spring, seem to be the culprit of the standing water. But they said the issue did not appear until about five years ago.
The standing water has led to foundation problems for multiple homes in the cul-de-sac, an influx of thousands of mosquitos and frogs in backyards, snakes and other wildlife residents confirmed.
“There’s standing water out here. This can lead to health issues, which also brings in snakes, frogs and more. No one from the local level has taken this matter seriously enough, and that is where the frustration comes in,” Prattville City Councilman Marcus Jackson said.
The ADECA representative stated that the next steps will be for City of Prattville grant writers to conduct a survey of the impacted area’s drainage problem. This could help bolster the opportunity for further funding. Another solution could be to try and qualify for a community development block grant, an ADECA representative suggested.
City grants administrator Dawn Russell was in attendance on behalf of Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie and stated that an LMI grant was applied for last year and denied. Russell heard and saw the resident’s frustrations today, and stated she will be relaying the information to the mayor who was out of town at the time of the meeting.
Residents have stated that Gillespie has been out to see the fast-growing marsh in the back yards of Bent Tree Court. Members of ADECA commended the mayor for past projects that they have worked on together. They also commended state representative Kelvin Lawrence and Senator Clyde Chambliss, who were both in attendance, for their diligence in working on past projects as well.
The next course of action will be to bring this to the city’s attention to recognize the easement on Bent Tree Court, and in the back yards of residents, as a city easement. However, Gillespie told the Elmore Autauga News Thursday afternoon that it is a privately owned easement, to the best of his memory.
Gillespie stated that he had not yet had the opportunity to talk to the individuals that were at the meeting this morning.
“We’re looking and trying to help the residents there as much as possible. There’s a process and we’re working through it to help everybody out, just like we do on any other cases inside the corporate limits within the City of Prattville,” Gillespie said.
Sen. Chambliss stated that if the city does not accept it as a public or city easement, then it could become a legislative act. He gave residents advice on being respectful even through their frustrations
“There’s an engineering solution here. Funding is the issue at this point but it’s not an unsolvable problem,” Prattville City Engineer Robby Anderson said.
Charles Marsh, a resident of Bent Tree Court since 2006, stated he has put at least $30,000 of his own money towards the issue within his backyard. He has tried to pump the water out to stormwater drains. He even built his own pond to hold the water. Neither have solved his problems.
“This has prevented me from doing repairs to my house. I need a new roof, I need a new hot water heater, I need new floors. I haven’t been able to do that because I’m trying to get this water thing under control,” Marsh said.
Two others residents stated they no longer can let their grandchildren into their yards due to the almost knee-deep or higher standing water. All the residents made a comment about the loud frogs being unbearable at night.
Marsh said he would take frogs by the bucket full and deposit them elsewhere, out of the neighborhood, on a weekly basis.
“We did not have any idea of this, or I promise you we would not have bought here if we thought there was even an idea of having swamp problems. Everything was wonderful for the first 20 years in this house. That’s why we’re looking for help from somebody because we’re being impacted by other issues somewhere else. In our opinion the city should take responsibility for the easement and resolve the issue,” Bent Tree Court and longtime resident Mark Gillum said.
Gillum and his wife Traci have lived and raised their children in the house since 1998. Traci stated they used to love running around the backyard and playing under the shade of the trees when this wasn’t an issue.
“This has rendered half of our yard unusable. My wife is from Louisiana, and it sounds like a Louisiana swamp out here at night,” Mark said.
Another resident pointed out he can no longer use his yard, and his shed has been flooded many times in recent years. The water has threatened the foundation where his shed sits, but also cracked the concrete slab for his grandchildren’s basketball hoop.
“I know the projects that the city has going on and they come up with funding. If it was just my house, I would understand but you have a whole group of us, a neighborhood with the same issue. We’re talking about a whole neighborhood, and it affects us,” Edward Clinton said. He has resided in his house on Bent Tree Court for 34 years.
Clinton stated that his grandchildren visit often, and that he used to host cookouts regularly. Now, he can no longer have his grandchildren play in the yard or do what he wants within the back yard.
“The mosquitos are a huge issue, and the frogs are everywhere. I know when frogs come, there’s other things that eat frogs coming here too. I have grandkids and I don’t want them out here in this, because this is a safety issue. I’m not looking to pack up and go anywhere. I believe that this is my home and I’m not going to run away from my home because there’s an issue, Clinton said.
Once it is determined who or what agency is responsible for the easement, steps can be taken towards funding to remedy the flooding and standing water.
