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City of Kelly asks Story County drainage trustees to investigate full tile flow in Drainage District 28
Summary
City of Kelly officials told Story County drainage trustees on July 14 that CCTV inspection crews could not advance a camera about 390–400 feet into an older clay tile in Drainage District 28 and that jetting had found root intrusion near a church basin; trustees agreed to begin targeted jetting and, if located, excavation once fields dry.
Alex Lundgren, interim mayor of the City of Kelly, told the Story County Board of Supervisors acting as drainage district trustees on July 14 that the city has experienced recurring standing water and basement flooding on the north side of Kelly and asked the trustees to help locate and remedy a suspected problem in county tile in Drainage District 28.
"With these heavy rains seeming to come in, quicker frequencies than 20 years ago, anything we can do to help our residents from having flooded basements would be helpful," Lundgren said. He introduced a city video of a CCTV inspection and asked trustees to consider county assistance to find and fix the problem.
Garrett Davies, a public-works employee for the city, described a CCTV run from a north-side manhole that reached roughly 390 feet before the camera could not advance. "There's either a belly in the line or a partial blockage," Davies said, noting the tile is clay and that "tree roots" and a previously repaired bad T-joint had been found in earlier work.
County staff and trustees reviewed the video and discussed hydraulics and access. Staff said the manhole in question remains 10–12 feet deep and often remains at a high water mark after storms, and that a 15-inch tile feeding the system appeared to be running at capacity into a catch basin behind the church. County staff cautioned that exploratory digging across fields is not typical: the district will generally dig and repair when a specific problem location is identified rather than perform broad, continual exploration.
As an interim step, county staff recommended checking nearby road intakes and performing targeted jetting from a location that can be geolocated from the city's CCTV endpoint. If jetting defines a pinpointed obstruction, crews could then excavate a short section and make a repair. County staff said jetter cable lengths and lack of nearby intakes may require digging to access the tile farther down the line, and that digging is likely to be postponed until the ground dries to avoid crop damage.
Trustees noted the city had previously submitted a $3,000 bill to the district for late-2024 jetting and repairs, and that a CCTV run in mid-February 2026 had been unable to reach what city crews suspected was the blocked section. Trustees agreed to begin the investigative steps discussed — locate intakes, attempt jetting, and dig at the geolocated endpoint if necessary — and to report back to the city council. No formal district policy change or funding appropriation was adopted at the meeting.
The meeting opened at 9 a.m. and was adjourned after the discussion; trustees approved the agenda at the start of the meeting.
