Tate Homeowners Seek Flooding Relief - WREG

It's just outside the town of Coldwater, not far from Arkabutla Lake. The flooding has threatened several homes a few times already this year and even ruined some.

[Angie Staten]

We have lived in Golden Pond for three years, and we've never had a flood issue until this year. The water came to our front porch, and luckily, that's as far as it got. We have the video to prove it. We were lucky, but now we worry every time there's a hard rain.

[Anonymous]

We lived in Golden Pond for 4 years. The flooding continued to get worse and worse every year. We blame the 2 original land owners for feuding back and forth by stopping up ditches and rerouting them to make each other mad! Golden Pond homeowners are the victim. We are not in the flood zone and feel that we have been complaining to the lazy do nothing county.

[Mad Homeowner]

We are one of the lucky few, as we built our house 10-24 inches above the property elevation. The last big flood would have caused massive damage had we not. It is a shame that the county is allowing this to happen, regardless of the reason. If it is feuding landowners, farmers, or simply a lack of county maintenance, the county needs to take the lead and make it right for everyone. I realize the farmers have a lot at stake, but so do us homeowners and the drainage needs to be re-routed back to the original survey. Hopefully this news story will put the pressure on the right people.

For a long time, the homeowners of the subdivision took matters into their own hands and cleaned out the drainage canal on a fairly regular basis. One land owner in particular complained about us being on his property and we had to halt the efforts to maintain our homes. It was not a fix, but was certainly helping matters. It is selfish people like this that make living anywhere difficult anymore. We are all neighbors, so lets work together to keep life manageable. It all starts with Tate County doing what is right.

[fed up taxpayer]

I feel sorry for the homeowners whose homes have flooded, but it only takes a little common sense to see that some of the homes will flood. You can not take low lying agricultural land and and develop it into a subdivision and expect it not to flood. That land has flooded for years every time we get any substantial rain. The homeowners should have noticed the creeks and drainage ditches running through the property when thy purchased their homes.
The homeowners made the bad decision to build homes in low land and expect the rest of the taxpayers to fix their problem. That is what is wrong with our country today. We make bad choices and blame someone else for it, and then expect government to bail us out. The homeowners need to look at themselves and the developer of the subdivision for their problems and not blame anyone else.