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Otsego resident tells council an older culvert is sending stormwater across his backyard
Summary
Resident Kenny Risen told the City of Otsego council that a 24-inch culvert and adjoining drainage pattern send water across his backyard near his septic system and urged the city to address the issue; staff and the city engineer said the drainage pattern appears historic and more information may be needed.
Kenny Risen, a resident of Second Street Northeast, told the City of Otsego council during the public comment period that an older culvert and drainage pattern are directing stormwater across his backyard and within about 20 feet of his house and 5 feet of his septic system.
"The culvert ... is illegal because it dumps water across my backyard between my house and my septic system," Risen said, outlining culvert sizes and multiple possible fixes, including abandoning and filling the culvert and regrading to redirect flow.
City engineer Ron told the council the drainage pattern predates recent paving and has existed for decades, noting the development was platted in 1972 and that photographs taken after a 2½-inch rain showed drainage areas dry within a short time. Ron said the culvert under Ochoa drains approximately 0.085 acres and that the historic pattern complicates a finding of illegality absent evidence of a significant change that causes flooding.
Mayor (unnamed in the transcript) and staff said the matter had been discussed previously and referred Risen’s concerns to the city attorney and the city engineer for further review. The city attorney and city engineer offered to consult with Risen’s attorney if he pursues legal action.
Risen told the council he has talked to an attorney but has not retained one; he said prior informal contact led to a neighbor correcting the issue in a previous dispute but that it cost him several thousand dollars to pursue. He asked the council to address the site or explain why it will not be remedied.
The council did not take formal action on the complaint at the meeting. City staff and the engineer described the drainage pattern as long-standing and said additional evidence of changed conditions or flooding would be relevant to any enforcement or repair obligation. Next steps were recorded as staff follow-up with the city attorney and the option for Risen to engage legal counsel for further action.
