Latest Weather Blog
Residents of Denham Springs flood second time during severe weather
Related Story
DENHAM SPRINGS - As severe weather crossed over Livingston Parish Sunday night and into early Monday morning, some residents in the Denham Springs subdivision, Jones Estates, took on water.
“For every rain event, especially since the flood, everybody gets very, very nervous about the water in this subdivision," Ricky Rowe, a resident of Jones Estates for 20 years,said. “We've had a constant problem with drainage and flooding.”
Rowe is right. The subdivision is notorious for taking on water when the rain comes because of what they believe is due to poor drainage and new subdivisions popping up in the area. Last night was no exception.Rowe and other neighbors woke up to water in their homes, once again.
Ricky and Teri Rowe were only three weeks from being back in their completed home that was damaged by the flood in August. Now, they are cleaning up water and trying to dry out their newly renovated home.
“Water started seeping in under the baseboards, and I knew then it was fixing to get bad” Rowe said.
The water receded as the day went on, but the event of flooding again makes the Rowe’s uneasy about staying. However, they feel that if they decided to sell, it would be nearly impossible.
“We can't continue to flood, but we also realize our homes are really worth nothing if we try to sell them because of the flooding problems,” Rowe said.
A few houses down, Mark Schorr feels the same way. He’s lived in the neighborhood for 25 years.
Schorr said after spending Sunday night on edge and watching his neighborhood flood again, he’s considering walking away.
“It’s not what I want to do, but I got to be honest. Today I started thinking about it. What is the right move? Should I just take a loss and give up and forget about it? I don’t know,” said Schorr.
The frustration comes from years of flooding and drainage issues in the subdivision. Residents like Schorr say the flooding is only getting worse by the years.
“When I first moved here it would probably happen once every few years now its happening every few months,” said Schorr.
For Ricky Rowe, the inability to walk away makes their once beloved neighborhood, feel like a prison instead.
“We're trapped, we're trapped," said Rowe
The drainage system takes water from Harrison Creek on the east side of Highway 16 and moves it to the west side, then moves it north towards the Amite River, but fails regularly.
News
