Mayfield council considers short-term and long-term fixes after canyon-road flooding worries

Residents and public-works staff told the Mayfield Town Council on March 12 that recurring cloudbursts and a clogged culvert on Canyon Road threaten a low-lying house and that short-term and long-term remedies are needed.

Sandy Powell described repeated cloudburst flooding that can overwhelm the existing pipe and send water into a yard and toward a home. “We might not have a cloudburst for the next four years, but when we have one, we are in trouble,” Powell said.

Public-works staff and consulting references were presented: a 2015 drainage study by Jones and Deville identified culvert locations and recommended pipe sizing; town staff said some culverts on Canyon Road are smaller than more recent replacements elsewhere in town and that private drive culverts have been installed at varying diameters. Garrett, the town’s public-works representative at the meeting, recommended a two-step approach: first, a fire-department flush to clear accumulated debris from the culvert and test flow; second, if the flush does not restore capacity, targeted excavation and pipe replacement or open-ditch solutions.

Council and staff discussed temporary measures — sandbags or portable dikes — and longer-term fixes such as exposing and upsizing the culverts, creating a secondary overflow path that would keep floodwater off the house, and addressing the asphalt crown and swales that funnel water into the same ditch. The council authorized staff to contact the Gunnison-area fire department and ask whether its high-pressure pumps can flush the culvert using town water; staff also said they would photograph and then dig test access holes if needed to evaluate replacement options.

Garrett urged that any road resurfacing or chip-seal work in the area be accompanied by drainage fixes, saying, “Never do a road project without addressing drainage. All you are doing is giving yourself a headache.”