Storm Easement - What to do?

We found out at our settlement (back in 2001) that we have a storm easement on the edge of our property. It's basically a useless piece of our yard and we have issues with the water draining properly. Our neighbors (original owners) said that they had Van Metre come and re-grade their yard a few times. Any ideas for what we can do now? We have a baby now and the water laying in the easement attracts mosquitos, etc.

 

The grading in the storm drain easement area is probably off-limits but you could install a french drain. I have the same problem in my back yard, with my neighbors yard draining across mine, but we both got the builder to improve the slope and drainage during the warranty period. My neighbor considered a french drain (which I had never heard of!), but installation is expensive and that would have only worked if I also had a french drain installed.

See the following links for info on french drains and search the Internet for other info:

http://www.howardawilcoxjr.com/french_drain.html

http://www.grounds-mag.com/ar/grounds_maintenance_install_french_drain/index.htm

 

What do babies have to do with mosquitos? Just wondering...

 

Standing water breeds mosquitos. Mosquitos carry diseases like the West Nile Virus, to which children are particularly susceptible.

 

Pats Fan,

Thanks for responding to Boomertsfx. You knew exactly what I meant!

 

The best thing to do about any standing water is to:

1. Try to prevent the standing water (obvious isn't it) however, what needs to be done is to direct rainwater away from the area if possible.

2. Try to locate where the storm drain is. There should be an drain grate somewhere in the area, locate that and try to see what is preventing the drainage flow to the grate.

3. If there is no grate, and all you have is wetlands, then you have to see what type of wetlands you have. If you have a running stream, then you really don't have to worry about mosquitos, as most species require standing pools of water. There are some that breed in tidal marshland that are affected by the water level rising and falling, but they have adapted for that.

Most culex species (the kind that most often carry west nile) require standing pools of some type. This includes birdbaths, waste tires, etc. Anything that can hold water ... .

What you need to do with birdbaths and stuff is to insure they are flushed out with fresh water regularly. For standing pools of groundwater, I would get some of the mosquito donuts that are sold at Home Depot and Lowes. One of them lasts from 2 to 4 weeks. These donuts contain a natural bacterium that kills mosquito larvae before they can grow and pupate.

Hope this helps.

Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Don't forget the old people! It's bad on them too!

Neilz - Any environmental implications on that donut (mmmm, doughnut) of bacteria? The wetlands near us are saved lands and protected. I wouldn't mind culling the mosquito pop this year since the froggies will be eating their fill of cicadas. I wonder if we'll have a frog bloom? First the swarm of locusts and the the plague of frogs, hmmm....

 

And don't forget the snakes. They eat the frogs. So we'll have plagues of snakes.

-Teak

 

None .. they are used by most Mosquito Control districts and are environmentally safe as they affect mosquitos only.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

NeilZ,

Thanks for the info. I do know where the storm grate is - in someone else's back yard a few houses down. The house sits near the trail and I can see the water path cutting thru the grass in their backyard. I guess the blockage must be between my house and the grate - or maybe my backyard isn't graded correctly. I'll have to look into those mosquito donuts. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

contact the county.