ANGOLA, N.Y. — A couple who just bought a house in the Town of Evans is frustrated because their home has flooded twice in the two weeks since they moved in. They reached out to 2 On Your Side to try and get some help.
"I looked outside, and it wasn't that bad," Elizabeth Hartman said. "It was only about along the tree lines, and about ten minutes later, it was up to the front door. Ten minutes after that, it was coming in through the front door."
Hartman and Vincent DeSantis just moved into their new home last month.
"We knew it was a flood zone," DeSantis said. "As far as the flooding conditions, and how it floods, was never really disclosed to us."
They've already dealt with destructive flooding twice. Hartman and DeSantis are worried this could happen every time it rains in Evans.
"The corner here, it looks like it's collapsing," DeSantis said. "The drains themselves, the culverts, don't look big enough to handle all the water."
Their sump pump can't keep up, but the Lake Erie Volunteer Fire Department is helping by letting them borrow another pump.
"Homeowners’ does not cover it, flood insurance does," DeSantis said. "Unfortunately, I don't want to put it through flood insurance due to the fact that premiums are so high. If I do a flood insurance claim, it may double or triple my premium, and to have two claims in a matter of nine days, they're going to look at me like I'm nuts and may even lose coverage."
DeSantis says the town supervisor has been responsive.
"She's been with us getting her feet wet, trying to find a solution, unfortunately, like she has told me, it isn't up to her to make the calls" he said. "It is up to the highway superintendent and the drain specialist to make these calls for the repairs. This is a health hazard. This is a quality of life hazard. You don't know what is in the water. It is causing mold in our homes. We may end up sick. This isn't just a little bit of rain, it has nothing to do with the rain, drainage needs to be repaired."
2 On Your Side called the town supervisor and the highway superintendent Monday afternoon. We also emailed the highway superintendent to try to get some answers about what the town's doing to fix the drainage issues, and we haven't heard back.