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Morningside resident urges action on rusted culverts as county boards debate responsibility
Summary
Tammy Harris told the Delaware County drainage board that rusted metal culverts along East Harvard are a public-safety hazard and asked for help; the surveyor said the side ditch is not a regulated drain and responsibility is unclear, prompting the boards to agree to draft guidance clarifying jurisdiction and to seek a city engineer statement.
Tammy Harris, speaking for the Morningside Neighborhood Association, told the Delaware County drainage board at its March meeting that rusted, jagged metal culverts along East Harvard (near 1909 E. Harvard) are creating safety hazards and standing water that breeds mosquitoes. “We have metal culverts that are rusting…the edges are roughedged…and the end of it is completely folded in on itself,” Harris said, and offered photos of the failing structures.
The county surveyor responded that the side ditch feeding the problem is not a regulated drain and that driveway culverts are generally private structures: “The side ditch is not a regulated drain…The drainage board doesn't really own culverts,” he said, noting the surveyor’s office has met with the city and the sanitary district but has no record that the ditch was ever accepted as a regulated drain. Board members and staff agreed homeowners pay a $10 annual ditch assessment that funds Hamilton Miller maintenance but that money does not automatically cover replacement of private culverts.
The exchange highlighted a recurring problem the boards have faced: when surface stormwater from a development or private parcel connects to regulated drains, residents and local agencies often receive conflicting guidance about who must pay or perform repairs. Paul Shrivever, Blackford County surveyor, later urged clearer public guidance and administrative tools such as a cumulative drain fund to finance work that does not fall neatly under existing categories.
Board members said they will seek an official statement from Adam Leech, the City of Muny engineer, to clarify municipal responsibility for structures inside city limits and requested staff draft a memorandum of understanding that outlines which agency handles which situations. The boards agreed the memorandum should include local examples (Morningside, Hulman/Hamilton areas and locations west of Walmart South) and be posted online so residents can be directed to the correct contact.
What happens next: staff will try to obtain a formal response from the city engineer, then collaborate with stormwater and sanitary-district officials to produce the jurisdictional guidance. The board emphasized that accepting a side ditch as a regulated drain would require a formal acceptance process and a vote by the drainage board, which could trigger assessment procedures for affected property owners.
Why it matters: residents said some culverts are corroded and create fall hazards and standing water; the board’s clarification will determine whether affected homeowners must pay to replace private structures or whether the county, city or sanitation district has legal responsibility.
