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Lower Ambulance Community Ditch representative urges clearer easement maintenance and raises erosion concerns
Summary
Tom Tentler, representing the Lower Ambulance Community Ditch, told the commission his nonprofit faces repeated miscommunication over responsibility for head gates and easement access, and reported erosion where wastewater plant discharge enters the ditch; he asked to work with the city manager and provided canal-easement regulations for review.
Tom Tentler introduced himself as a representative of the Lower Ambulance Community Ditch and asked the commission to review canal easement regulations and coordinate on maintenance responsibilities.
"We're a nonprofit organization. We don't have a lot of resources or funds to continually chase things down," Tentler said. He said the ditch transports water but does not maintain head gates or laterals, which belong to individual users, and that private fences and development have restricted access in places where the ditch needs maintenance.
Tentler described a specific erosion problem where the city's wastewater-treatment plant discharges into the ditch, saying the discharge was eroding a property owner's bank. He told commissioners he has tried to contact city staff without response and asked to work through the city manager so the issues can be tracked and addressed.
A commissioner asked whether wastewater discharge raises ditch levels; Tentler said it can and that the ditch uses flow controls (a sluice) particularly in winter to preserve access for maintenance.
The mayor directed Tentler to work with the city manager, who will take the concerns forward and present options to the commission as needed. Tentler provided written canal easement regulations to the city for review.
