DERBY, N.Y. — We continue to hold people in power accountable about flooding concerns in the Southtowns along Lake Erie. Monday night, we introduced you to a couple in Evans who have already dealt with flooding twice in two weeks at their new home. They're frustrated with the town, and as 2 On Your Side found out, they aren't alone.
After our story aired Monday night, a man who lives not too far away from that couple contacted 2 On Your Side saying he's having big drainage problems, too. William Steinbrenner lives in Kimberly Lane in Derby.
"That is what I affectionately call Lake Steinbrenner," he said showing us his yard.
Steinbrenner moved into his home in Derby a year-and-a-half ago. In that first year, his family dealt with flooding 25 to 30 times.
"We weren't told by anyone. We weren't told by our real estate person or the last homeowner. There is nothing that stated that we had water issues," said Steinbrenner.
Steinbrenner did some research and found out fixing the drainage issues on his own would be cheaper than hiring an attorney. Since fixing some of the drainage issues, he's only had flooding problems twice.
"This takes the overflow of water and it sends it out into the lake," he explained showing us his yard.
He would have rather had the Town of Evans fix the problems, but when he finally got in touch with the highway department he felt like he didn’t get anywhere.
"After about a month, month and a half, I finally got an email back stating that, you know, as far as they're concerned, it's not their problem," he said.
Steinbrenner didn't give up. He requested documents through the Freedom of Information Act and says he discovered town is responsible for drainage in his subdivision.
2 On Your Side called and emailed Town of Evans Highway Superintendent Ed Michalski Monday to get answers for a couple who just bought a home on Eisenhower Avenue. He replied to our email Tuesday saying, "The drainage system works as proven by the rainy June we just experienced only when there is steady heavy rain is there a problem." He also told us that if we required any additional info, he'd make himself available.
We replied wanting to talk with him about both neighborhoods, and we haven't heard back.
"Get a third-party surveyor, go out, find out why this has been turned into a wetland now, and correct the problem, and then reimburse what these folks have done to fix the problems themselves because it’s literally not their issue. This is why we pay thousands of dollars in taxes," says Steinbrenner.