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Resident urges Hooper to revise storm-drain rules after repeated irrigation flooding
Summary
A resident told the council they had repeatedly experienced irrigation runoff across their yard and said city practice of denying private drain connections to the storm system is impractical; the resident urged staff to amend the ordinance or policies that prevent private land drain connections.
A resident delivered a lengthy public comment Thursday asking Hooper City to revisit policies that, in the resident'0s view, prevent homeowners from connecting private drainage to the municipal storm system.
The resident described multiple incidents in which irrigation water remained on the neighbor'0s property for days, causing water to migrate into the resident'0s yard and seep toward a basement entrance. To address the recurring flooding, the resident said they paid privately to install a catch drain to move irrigation water into an existing roadside culvert. The resident said city staff told the excavator a permit could not be issued for that connection and that later correspondence from staff called private land drain connections to the storm system "not typically allowed."
Why it matters: The resident said the ditches and culverts in the area were originally built to carry irrigation and farm drainage and argued the prohibition meant homeowners had no practical place to route unavoidable irrigation runoff. The resident asked the council to provide common-sense flexibility and to review the ordinance that staff cited as the reason for denying the permit.
The resident said they had sought help from multiple offices, including West Point City and county staff, and that a proposed accommodation discussed with the West Point engineer had not been implemented. The resident also criticized a named city planner'0s handling of the issue and asked the council to consider changing or clarifying the policy to allow appropriate private connections where they do not adversely affect downstream systems.
Staff response: Council members and staff acknowledged the complaint and said staff would review the ordinance language and the chronology of permit interactions. The mayor said the council had discussed the underlying ordinance in prior meetings and that staff would look into the matter and report back.
Ending: The council did not take immediate action at the meeting beyond directing staff to review the matter and report findings; the resident said they would remain involved in following the outcome.
