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Resident urges fixes after repeated basement flooding linked to Roger Road drainage
Summary
At a July 7 Lebanon City committee meeting, resident Glenda Norris described a second basement flood in two years and urged the city to redesign drainage on Roger Road; staff and council described downstream pipe bottlenecks and said they will inspect the area and explore funding and engineering studies.
Glenda Norris told the Lebanon City council committee on July 7 that ‘‘this is the second time in two years my basement has flooded’’ after heavy rain and asked the city to address drainage problems along Roger Road.
That plea prompted a multi-part discussion among council members and staff about the town’s stormwater conveyance. A staff member said the lift station and force main work is installed but awaiting a utility hookup and inspection, while recent upgrades place large-diameter pipes upstream of an 8–10-inch constriction downstream that can create a bottleneck during extreme storms.
Why it matters: speakers reported that a recent storm produced about seven inches of rain in a few hours and overwhelmed parts of Lebanon’s drainage system. Council members and staff said blocked inlets, old clogged ditches and limited downstream grade — including culverts under Route 4 and railroad crossings — reduce the effectiveness of local upgrades and require coordination with state and private owners.
Councilmember George and public-works staff described on-the-ground findings: inlets and conveyances had accumulated cattails, debris and even a mattress in older pipes, and some drains had not been cleaned in more than 20 years. Staff argued a hydrologic/watershed study is needed to prioritize projects and avoid moving water to other vulnerable neighborhoods.
Funding and next steps: council members discussed potential local funding sources — including TIF and business-district funds — and emphasized that large-scale engineering and construction will be expensive and take time. Staff said they will inspect Roger Road, follow up on the lift-station startup and coordinate with state and railroad authorities where necessary. The committee did not take a formal vote; staff indicated further investigation and a possible agenda item for a subsequent meeting.
Representative quote: ‘‘We put a BM up which alleviated the problem for a while…But it just belines to my house now,’’ Norris said, describing repeated damage to her basement.
The committee recorded the concern for follow-up; the city’s staff-directed inspections and any recommended engineering study are the next procedural steps.
