A resident told the Neosho County commission she is seeing standing water on her property after a culvert replacement near Fortieth Road and asked the county to remove or otherwise remedy the water standing in the ditch.

“I continue to have a water problem on my property due to the culvert that was put in across Fortieth, and there's standing water,” the resident said during public comment, describing pooling that is “jeopardizing my new fence.”

Road & Bridge staff who later addressed the issue said the culvert replacement had restored an historical drainage path and that removing it would not necessarily stop runoff from nearby upslope land. Mike, Road and Bridge superintendent, said staff initially had spoken with the resident and inspected the site; he recommended two options: re-open ditches to the east so water flows away from the property, or otherwise manage the ditching to move water to the river.

“...ditch it on the north and south side and get the water to go towards the river East, and let's be done with it and no more problems,” Mike said, describing the county's preferred technical fix.

Staff noted earlier hedgerow removal and tree-stump work near the site may have changed how water collects. Commissioners asked staff to prepare a draft plan showing the proposed ditching, an estimate of earthwork required and a recommended approach to avoid pushing water onto other private land. They asked for a site survey and a plan the commission could review at the next meeting.