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Homeowners say repeated flooding reflects stormwater design failures; city response limited
Summary
Multiple College Meadows homeowners testified that repeated basement flooding results from design and inspection failures in the subdivision stormwater system; they cited a consultant report and said a tort claim was denied.
Several College Meadows homeowners told the Olathe council on Sept. 2 that repeated basement flooding results from systemic defects in the subdivision's stormwater design and city oversight.
Residents' claims and engineering observations
Homeowners — including Kate Gimbelo and Max Cook — described multiple floods over recent years in which water rose several feet and inundated finished basements. Gimbelo said the city's consultant, HNTB, identified four “major design and build issues” with the neighborhood stormwater system and that city staff previously offered a partial, costly private fix — $70,000 from the city if homeowners paid $70,000 — that would have required a 5‑foot, 65‑foot retaining wall adjacent to a home.
Retired engineer David Silverstein reviewed as‑built grading and drainage plans at the homeowners' request and told the council he believes the site receives runoff from nearly 100 acres upstream and that a 48‑inch conveyance pipe approved at the location is undersized. Silverstein said HNTB recommended replacing the pipe with an 8‑by‑4 foot box culvert to nearly triple capacity and avoid the ponding that presses against occupied homes during storms.
Tort claim and city response
Homeowners said they filed a tort claim that halted conversations for 120 days and that the city later denied liability. Homeowners told the council they have spent personal funds on waterproofing and repairs that have not prevented repeat flooding. Speakers urged the city to accept responsibility for correcting the stormwater infrastructure at issue rather than continue treating remediation as the homeowners' responsibility.
City staff and next steps
City staff previously commissioned HNTB to assess the problem and, in the meeting, staff acknowledged consultants' findings but did not announce an immediate remediation plan or allocation of funds during the Sept. 2 meeting. The homeowners said the current condition has damaged property values and poses safety and habitability concerns. They asked the council to act to repair the system and to reconsider the city's position on the tort claim denial.
