Drainage board sets hearing after DeSoto‑area pond berm blocks neighbor's runoff

Wayne Johns, who lives at 8309 East County Road 350 North, told the Delaware County Drainage Board that a neighbor’s recently dug pond and an accompanying mound of excavated material has blocked the natural overland flow from his yard and left a swath of his property persistently wet.

"They made an embankment . . . which basically eliminated the natural runoff from our property," Johns said, and he handed the board a petition formally requesting removal of an obstruction.

Surveyor’s staff inspected the site and presented an overland‑flow map the board reviewed at the meeting. The surveyor told the board the berm appeared approximately 4 feet high and "completely blocks off the overland flow of water," and recommended the drainage board send registered letters to the landowners and hold a formal hearing.

The board voted to schedule a public hearing at its next meeting to hear both sides, after which the board said it could order the owner to remove the obstruction or authorize the surveyor’s office to remove it and assess the cost to the property owner. Roll call votes for the hearing motion were recorded as carried.

Commissioners noted the county is drafting a pond ordinance to create clearer permitting and oversight for newly dug ponds. Board members said the hearing and registered‑mail notice process would be the next step under the county’s procedure.

The petition and supporting materials were entered into the record; the surveyor’s office will prepare and send the registered notices and post the hearing date to the official agenda.