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Resident fill forces water onto street; Whiteland board pushes for asset-management plan and engineering quotes
Summary
A homeowner’s decision to fill a front-yard swale in Whiteland redirected stormwater into the street, prompting the town’s storm water staff to recommend a townwide asset-management plan, seek multiple engineering quotes and prioritize Mapler Crest for early work.
Carmen, a town staff member, told the Whiteland Town Storm Water Board on June 10 that a resident had filled a front-yard swale in a Mapler Crest subdivision, pushing stormwater onto the street and creating standing water and a mosquito nuisance. Staff issued notices of violation asking the resident to restore the swale; the resident instead raised the issue at a recent town council meeting, and staff returned to inspect after rainfall and documented water flowing onto the roadway.
Carmen said field inspection also revealed several pipes beneath driveways that were either blocked or had collapsed, which worsened the drainage failure. "We did discover or they did discover that there were a couple of the pipes underneath the driveways that have either collapsed or you know are blocked," Carmen said.
Staff urged a systematic approach rather than ad hoc repairs. Carmen described the need for a formal asset-management plan—an inventory and technical baseline that includes managerial and financial sections—to identify assets in the ground, establish priorities and position the town for funding such as State Revolving Funds through the Indiana Finance Authority. "We need to start there. We need a baseline," Carmen said. She added that the initial engineer proposal received was "a bit extreme" and that staff will solicit additional quotes before taking a recommendation to the board. Carmen estimated the plan could cost "upwards... a hundred to $150,000."
Board members and staff argued an engineering baseline would avoid throwing money away on piecemeal fixes that might later be replaced when a comprehensive project is implemented; staff noted the town has had cases where problems were reported for five to 10 years without being addressed. Staff also described the Mapler Crest section at issue as roughly 300 feet of work but warned that addressing a single section often expands into neighborhood-scale projects because other residents report similar problems.
Separately, Brian (MS4 coordinator) briefed the board on operations and training: recent field activities included jetted lines, curb-stop repairs and use of a newly acquired vac/back truck for water, sewer and storm work. He also summarized takeaways from an MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) conference and a Greenwood site visit demonstrating bio-swales and rain gardens as green infrastructure options for managing runoff.
Ending: Staff said they will pursue additional engineering proposals, develop an asset list and prioritize projects for Mapler Crest and other neighborhoods; no formal motion to fund the plan was recorded at the meeting.
