Sioux City resident warns fiber node in right-of-way could worsen backyard flooding

Keith Baron, a Sioux City homeowner, told the Sioux City Council on Monday that a newly installed Sparklight fiber/power junction box placed in the public right-of-way beside his Ninth Street property is obstructing storm drainage and threatens to flood his basement.

Baron raised the complaint during the council’s citizen concerns period, saying the box sits “about 4 feet 2 inches away” from a reference point near his yard and that the drainage opening at the retaining wall is “4 or 5 inches” high. He warned, “Someone’s gonna get electrocuted,” and said repeated backups have flooded the neighborhood in prior years.

The dispute centers on work Sparklight performed in the city right-of-way earlier this year. Mike Derhode, senior regional director for Sparklight, told the council his company placed the node where power was available and after engineering review; he said the equipment was installed to code and that Sparklight has not seen evidence the unit creates the drainage issues Baron describes. “I don't think water is going to affect that thing in in any way,” Derhode said, adding that moving the unit now would require additional redesign and costs beyond the roughly $3,800 he cited to reset and rewire the power supply.

Gordon Ferris, identified in the meeting as the city engineer, and Mayor Robert E. Scott discussed the city’s role in permitting and notifying residents. The mayor said the city should improve communication when utility or contractor work will affect adjacent homeowners: “We, as a city, need to do a better job…if we didn't properly alert you or if you didn't know, then we need to do a better job of that in the future,” Scott said.

Derhode told the council Sparklight will monitor the site and said he would move the equipment if evidence shows it is a causal factor in flooding or poses an operational safety risk. He noted that moving the unit now would also require relocating a fiber node and that doing so would add further design and labor costs. Derhode said his group serves multiple states and that the unit was sited to serve nearby customers.

Council members and city staff asked Baron to document any flooding or water levels near the equipment after the forecast rain; the council did not take formal action at the meeting. Mayor Scott and city staff said engineers will review the drainage concerns and that Sparklight had been told to cooperate. The council emphasized the difference between private utilities’ rights to use the right-of-way and the city’s obligation to track communications with residents when such work is permitted.

No ordinance or resolution was introduced or voted on regarding the installation during the meeting. The parties agreed on a fact-finding approach: city engineers will review drainage and right-of-way placement, Baron will provide evidence if further flooding occurs, and Sparklight said it would relocate the unit if causation is established.

The council meeting record shows the installation work began this spring; Baron said initial excavation began in March and that prior neighborhood flooding incidents occurred in October 2019 and last October. Baron said he has taken steps on his property — retaining walls and berms — to limit past flooding but that the newly placed equipment is an additional concern. Sparklight and MidAmerican (the local power provider mentioned in the discussion) were identified as the utilities involved in power and service connections.