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Resident urges county to clarify responsibility for plugged culvert in Sway City
Summary
Jerry Anderson, a longtime Sway City property owner, told the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors on July 22 that a culvert under P30 has been “plugged for years,” creating recurrent flooding that county staff said they would help investigate.
Jerry Anderson, a longtime property owner in Sway City, told the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors during public comment that a culvert under P30 has been “plugged for years” and that silted ditches are sending stormwater onto neighboring yards and into a neighbor’s garage.
Anderson said he has lived on the corner of Second Avenue and P30 since his family bought the property in 1974 and that he filled a former low spot when he built a house in 2009. “All the water comes across to my side,” Anderson said. “Who’s in charge? Who’s gonna clean this pipe out? I pay $2,200 a year taxes on that lot.”
County staff and trustees told Anderson that jurisdiction in that corridor is mixed and that the road segment is part of a farm-to-market route where transportation jurisdiction lies with Kossuth County, while some drainage infrastructure may be the city’s responsibility. A county official said Sway City had inspected the culvert and reported it appeared open at both ends but that water was not passing through because ditches and the inlet are silted.
“I’ve talked with the maintenance man and I’ve talked with the mayor,” Anderson said he had told county staff. He said he had provided videos to county staff and asked whether the city would install an intake at the corner; Anderson said the mayor replied, “I don’t know.”
A county staff member told the board he has visited the location and noted multiple recent heavy rain events in the area, saying the county will assist Sway City if needed. “If the county can help them out, we will,” the staff member said. The board did not commit to a specific timeline in the public comment period.
The exchange included discussion about whether the pipe falls inside the county right-of-way and about how past overlays and fill on P30 have changed local drainage patterns. Anderson asked that the culvert and adjacent ditch be cleaned or replaced so water no longer overtops the road and enters neighboring property.
The supervisors moved on with the agenda after the exchange; staff indicated follow-up coordination with Sway City was underway.
