Resident Concerned About Flooding Issues On Road

A Crawford County resident on Tuesday expressed concerns about issues on Lick Creek Road with the hope that the road district can alleviate the problem.

Deb Schwalenberg outlined her problem to District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast. Schwalenberg and Boast agreed to a possible fix that would involve her removing a fence from her property, but the issue on Lick Creek Road extends to other roads throughout the county.

That area contains a “huge watershed” and the county installed a cross pipe to handle the discharge during a heavy rain, Boast said.

He said there are several roads in the county with these pipes.

The water on Lick Creek Road discharges into a field and Boast said the entire area floods with a heavy rain.

“We’ve tried maintaining it the best we can,” he said.

Boast said he is open to ideas on how to stop the flooding in that area. 

“There are many other roads in the county just like this and that’s what we deal with in this part of the world,” he said. 

Boast and District 1 Commissioner Rob Cummings debated the pros and cons of installing small or large culverts. A large culvert could handle more water, but the flow would also increase as well.

Boast said that area would be “a great place for a pond” though he doubted Schwalenberg would want to go that route.

He said the situation on Lick Creek Road is identical to another road in the northern part of the county where people inherited a property and built two lakes to accommodate flooding.

“It’s beautiful, but now they have a problem with silt,” Boast said, explaining how just building a body of water won’t necessarily be a fix.

Boast said he travels many miles of county roads where cross pipes have been installed and how “an impressive amount discharges.” He said it doesn’t have to be a flood, just heavy rain.