Konrad Pimiskern looks around his flooded basement and wonders where the water is from and who will pay for the damage it caused to his home.

The Black Mountain area resident has been pumping water out of his house for a month, as have several of his Lynrick Road neighbours in the Mountainview subdivision.

害羞草研究所淚t was the weekend of March 17-18, I got call from my neighbour up the hill that he was having flooding problems, and then my neighbour next door had flooding problems so we looked at our backyard and could see water running along the orchard that borders our properties,害羞草研究所� recalled Pimiskern.

害羞草研究所淭here was still some snow on the ground at that point but you could see water bubbling up everywhere.害羞草研究所�

Pimiskern decided to take preventative measures by digging a trench to divert any water from reaching his house.

害羞草研究所淎t a certain point the trench became overwhelmed by the water saturation. Then the water volume just exploded and we kept trying to dig more trenches but the water began to flow into our basement through the side door of the house. We had to bring in pumps to divert the water because we couldn害羞草研究所檛 keep up with it.害羞草研究所�

He figures without the pumps, his basement would easily be flooded to the ceiling by now害羞草研究所攁nd the water keeps coming.

害羞草研究所淚t was surface water to begin with but the ground around us was so saturated, our backyard was like a giant sponge. We would dig down five or six feet and it was just saturated everywhere.害羞草研究所�

Flooding has been a common issue in the Black Mountain area on both sides of Highway 33 this spring. Besides Lynrick Road, residents along Verde Vista Road, which borders the development, had sandbags along their driveways to divert runoff away from their street, while others along Sunrise Road also report apparent groundwater property flood damage.

Kirschner Mountain development proponent Allan Kirschner said they have taken steps, with drainage collection ditches and dugouts, to catch excessive runoff this year, and his development will eventually have a storm drain system in place to divert surface runoff water away to Gopher Creek at the base of the mountain.

害羞草研究所淲e have taken steps to help people who have had water issues bordering on our property, but nobody takes responsibility for groundwater flow, including the province,害羞草研究所� Kirschner said. 害羞草研究所淕roundwater saturation has been an issue all over the city this year.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚 know about the Lynrick Road situation but that is result of water coming from the orchard next to them as their homes are situated at a natural low point where the water has collected.害羞草研究所�

Pimiskern and his neighbours have banded together to demand answers and accountability for the cost of repairing the damage to their properties.

害羞草研究所淩ight now our homes are worth zero until this can be fixed. I know one neighbour who was planning to sell her home and had to take it off the market because of this,害羞草研究所� Pimiskern said.

City wants to facilitate solution

A group of the residents gathered last Friday at Pimiskern害羞草研究所檚 home to grill city engineer James Kay about how the city can help them and who should be held responsible for the damages.

He said the ultimate resolution for disputes between private property owners is civil litigation in the courts. Regarding water run off, he said the city害羞草研究所檚 responsibility pertains to surface water only and not groundwater.

Kay noted that flooding issues have popped up across the city this year in areas not seen before and where no new development has taken place. He said city policy is that private property owners are responsible for protecting their properties form possible groundwater damage.

Mountainview residents have seen major flooding before, dating back to a severe rainstorm in 2008 that led to a series of catchment ditches developed to collect excessive runoff.

Oddly, the current water flow in those ditches doesn害羞草研究所檛 currently reflect the level of water flowing into people害羞草研究所檚 basements, raising the question of where the water is originating from and what path it is following underground.

Kay said the city is looking to retain a hydro geologist consultant to better ascertain how the groundwater flow is affecting the flooding, but some residents want a state of emergency declared to facilitate a quicker response such as was done to address Lower Glenrosa Road flooding issues in West Kelowna.

Kay also plans to meet with orchardist Collin McMeekan, whose property borders the residential properties of Pimiskern and other flood victims. He wants to discuss digging a berm to divert surface and groundwater, but acknowledges it害羞草研究所檚 complicated because such a plan would impact both McMeekan害羞草研究所檚 trees and irrigation system.

City not ready for state of emergency declaration

Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran said the state of emergency option has not yet come forward as a recommendation from city staff.

害羞草研究所淎t this point I害羞草研究所檓 not even clear we can do that,害羞草研究所� Basran said. 害羞草研究所淏ecause this issue is between private property owners at this point, our role is to be a facilitator to find a solution.

害羞草研究所淚t is awful what these residents are going through so we are trying to help as much as we can.害羞草研究所�

Basran had planned to meet today with residents at Pimiskern害羞草研究所檚 home to hear out their concerns.

害羞草研究所淚 can appreciate people pointing their frustration at the Kirschner development, but we are also seeing high groundwater levels across the city that we have never seen before,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭he bottom line is this is a tough situation and the city wants to help people affected as best we can.害羞草研究所�

To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.

barry.gerding@blackpress.ca
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