Resident raises stormwater drainage complaint tied to Woodbury Heights development; council refers issue to engineering committee

A Sioux City resident told the council he has experienced recurrent backyard flooding that he says stems from stormwater diverted from the Woodbury Heights development and asked the city to require the developer to pipe the runoff rather than leave an open ditch.

Robert Rasmussen described a temporary ditch the developer installed in the fall of 2023 and said the city or developer had promised to put the drainage underground. "They're diverting all their water into a storm thing down into my backyard. It's flooding my yard," Rasmussen said.

City staff and the council discussed the drainage path and noted the area is part of a natural drainageway that also receives runoff from other properties. The engineer (Gordon) explained that placing a pipe in the location could change how water from adjacent properties drains and that staff must evaluate the system-wide effects before directing changes.

The council directed that the matter be added to the engineering committee agenda for review and analysis. "We'll add that to the agenda. We have an engineering committee that Julian, Alex sit on. And they'll they'll bring it up in one of their meetings to see what we can do," the transcript records.

Staff committed to follow up and contact the resident with next steps. The resident asked that the city provide contact information and keep him informed; staff agreed to capture his information and review the drainage geometry as part of the committee review.

No formal action (permit revocation, change order or enforcement action) was recorded in the transcript; the council's direction was to have the engineering committee examine the drainage configuration, possible piping, and effects on neighboring properties and report back.