City to alleviate drainage woes – eventually

VIRGINIA BEACH
Residents unhappy about City Council’s recent hike in stormwater fees may be wondering exactly what the funds are used for.
Shadowlawn resident Don Sheely will soon know. His neighborhood will benefit from a nearly $19 million drainage improvement project in south Lake Holly.

The city will begin the 53-block project in August, and Sheely’s home, which borders Lake Holly, will be one of many properties to benefit from the plan.

The Oceanfront resident said he’s long had a problem with standing water at the end of his driveway. Usually after a heavy rain, his cul-de-sac home is the collection point for much of the street’s stormwater runoff.

“The major problem I have is there’s no drainage at the end of the street,” he said. “The water just lays here, and as a result of that, all the water ends up residing at the end of my driveway, and it gets pretty deep.”

It’s been that way since he and his wife, Donna, purchased the home in 1995. But lately the swarming mosquitoes that are drawn to the swampy spot are becoming problematic. And then there are the rats that have also recently taken up residence under the couples’ home.

Sheely has complained to the city’s public works department and was glad to find out the project’s start is now only a few months away.

Although the four-phase project will take several years – and the new stormwater drains and sewer improvements for his street are still a few years away – Sheely is one of the lucky ones.

Mike Mundy, the city’s water resources program manager, said the south Lake Holly watershed improvement plan was approved in the late 1990s because of drainage concerns in that area. There are other subdivisions that need drainage improvements as well, Mundy said, but those projects haven’t even been designed yet.

For those upset about the recent increase in the city’s stormwater fee, Munden said those funds help pay for these drainage improvements.

“The bulk of the funds are coming from the stormwater utility fee that everybody pays,” Mundy said.
Over the next six to eight years, residents in south Lake Holly will have new stormwater drains added to their streets to help capture excess water and drain it. New sewer pipes will also be installed, and roadway improvements will be made as part of the south Lake Holly project.

Mundy said regrading the roads there, along with necessary curb and gutter improvements, will help relieve flooding in the area as well.

“That helps channelize the flow into storm drain inlets,” Mundy said.

Although the drainage improvements aren’t set to begin on Sheely’s street until 2013, Mundy said the city is looking at temporary fixes to alleviate the drainage issues on his property until then. One possibility is re-grading a gravel area south of Sheely’s property.

“We’re looking at doing some maintenance on that to get that water draining again, for some temporary improvement,” Mundy said. “He’s got an issue right now.”

Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102, rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com