Friday, Nov. 14, 2008

Continental Park Estates Facing Drainage Issues

By Nicholas Sakelaris

Staff Writer

This is the second of two parts focusing on current drainage issues in Southlake.

Al Penedo still remembers the day when raging floodwaters covered his backyard, even his swimming pool.

The once-beautiful pond behind his property couldn’t contain the runoff flowing from upstream, and floodwater went out of their banks and into the backyard of his Continental Park Estates home.

"I had fish in my pool," Penedo recalled.

That was in September 2002, when the Southlake Woods neighborhood was under construction off Peytonville Avenue. The new subdivision worsened the problem as silt and other debris rushed downstream littering the pond and discoloring it, Penedo said.

And the problem continues six years later and neighbors say they’ve exhausted just about every option they have left.

Last month, Continental Park Estates turned in a petition with 52 signatures, asking for help with erosion and other drainage issues. They say they have not heard anything from the city yet.

City spokeswoman Pilar Schank said the city is still researching the issues raised by the residents.

"Where it’s appropriate to assist residents, we will," she said.

Runoff Affecting Ponds

Mark Wood, an 11-year resident of Continental Park Estates, remembers when the pond behind his home, which is downstream from the pond behind Penedo’s home, was clean enough to swim in.

"I could see the fish swimming around," said Wood.

Now the pond is murky and full of litter. Neighbors blame developers who built homes without following environmental guidelines and drainage requirements.

Developers must prove that their development will be able to handle drainage and not exacerbate problems downstream.

Last week, the Journal reported that as of Oct. 7, the city has a new ordinance, mandated by the state, that gives staff the right to inspect and fine builders and developers for not properly following storm water regulations. The ordinance is not retroactive, however, so the city does not have authority on developments approved prior to passage of the ordinance.

In Continental Park Estates, city staff have offered to show Penedo hydrology studies that indicate that upstream drainage capacity is adequate.

But Penedo dismisses the study and contends that he has proof to the contrary.

"I’m looking at reality," Penedo said. "I don’t care what the study says. If he did his job, how come I’m getting more water than I used to?"

The pond stretches from Continental Boulevard, handling all the drainage from the north and west, including that from upslope at Carroll Elementary School. At the south end of the pond, a concrete spillway directs water into a creek that connects to the smaller pond behind Wood’s property. That pond flows south into another spillway and from there the water drains into Big Bear Creek, which serves as the boundary between Southlake and Colleyville before it flows through Grapevine and eventually into the Trinity River.

The city has a 40-foot easement that runs through the area but the majority of the ponds are on private property, said Chuck Kendrick, deputy director of public works operations. Southlake drainage crews recently removed a fallen tree near the second pond just south of Wood’s property, Kendrick said.

The spillway near Wood’s home has eroded from underneath, causing the concrete to crumble. The irrigation pump he installed has been buried under the silt and no longer functions.

The Woods recently spent $1,000 to add another layer of concrete to the spillway, but they’ve already noticed that the water is eroding that too, now. They’re beginning to feel as if they are fighting a losing battle.

"If this dam goes, it’s going to take parts of my property," Wood said.Penedo has built and rebuilt his own retaining wall and even uses sandbags to hold back floodwater now. He has thrown bricks and concrete blocks into the creek behind his property to stop the water from eroding more of the creek banks.

"I had to do all this by myself," Penedo said. "We have tried on our own to fix the problem."

Wood said the pond needs to be dredged to make it deeper like it used to be. The deeper the pond, the slower the water will move.

"As it shallows out it moves faster and faster and more erosion happens," he said.

He notes that the creek, which connects with Big Bear Creek, has doubled in size as the water eats away at the banks.

Despite the ongoing drainage problems, Wood says he is happy with the new box culverts the city installed on Scenic Drive, the entrance to Continental Park Estates.

The culvert, which cost more than $77,000, was installed in 2005.

Before that the city had to shut down the road whenever there were heavy rains, Wood said.

"Only a little water comes over the road now. It’s satisfactory," Wood said.

New Drainage Problems

Recently residents added a new concern to their list. The new ditch built along Continental Boulevard ends abruptly near Carroll Elementary School. Too abruptly, residents say. During heavy rains, like those that occurred this week, storm water rushes over Continental Boulevard and adds to the existing problems in the ponds.

Now, another new housing development going up on Continental Boulevard near Peytonville has resulted in the clearing of another field that used to absorb rain water.

"You wonder where the water’s going to go," Wood said. "It goes into our drainage."