St. Joseph neighborhood struggles with ongoing drainage issues
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- A family on the South Side of St. Joseph shared concerns about drainage problems in their neighborhood.
The family said, when they reached out to the City of St. Joseph, a crew did come out to work on the issue near Pine Street. Workers used a backhoe to dig the ditches deeper and even removed some of the culverts.
But the family says the job wasn’t finished — because the culvert in their yard was left clogged with dirt and debris.
“A crew came down and dug the ditches deeper with a backhoe, but the tube, the culvert that goes underneath the sidewalks and walkways to the houses, are just full of debris and dirt,” St. Joseph resident, David Duncan said.
He told us his family isn’t the only one dealing with this. Neighbors up and down the street are running into the same issue.
Ideally, Duncan said he’d like to see the city install an underground sewer system or at least clean out and upgrade the culverts so they can handle more water.
“Yeah, I have spoken to several people in the area too, and they said they’re aware of the problem, but they feel like their hands are tied, so we hope the city helps us with it,” Duncan said.
The City said it’s aware of the concerns and plans to send crews back out.
Public Works Director Kevin Schneider explained that while water is flowing and the culverts are functioning, they weren’t fully cleared the first time — and that’s what’s backing things up.
“We will go down there and clean the culverts out, but they are functioning, and we did drain the water that was called on,” Schnieder said.
Schneider said geography makes a difference. Because the Kirschner neighborhood sits on flat ground, debris tends to settle in the ditches more quickly.
“There's ditches and culverts that happen everywhere, and the dirt gets in the ditch and settles down in the culvert and starts filling up, but if you’re on a hill, it doesn’t impact you as bad,” Schneider said.
Homeowners and residents are advised to keep the ends of culverts clear of trash and yard waste — a small step that can make a big difference in neighborhoods where water tends to stall.
