Residents say heavy rainfall has tested repairs, added new problems
As the City of Newcastle moved from one budget year to the next at its June Council meeting, residents of The Ridge housing addition were in attendance to ensure a drainage project would continue into fiscal year 2025-26.
Residents Fara Coffey and Tammy Kubier, who have talked with the City since at least meetings in 2022, appeared again during the public comments portion of the June City Council meeting. They were in attendance to ask about the City’s funding and relate new and ongoing problems with the drainage in the area.
The City had committed to working on drainage problems in Phase 2 of the development, but because of the cost of the work, determined it should be spread out in budget years. In the last two months, Newcastle and the state of Oklahoma have experienced record-breaking amounts of rainfall. Coffey and Kubier said drainage problems have continued in The Ridge, and because new houses continue to be built in the older portion of the addition, new flooding problems have arisen which are impacting the Phase 2 area.
Coffee took to the podium during the June meeting and asked if there would be any follow-up to the work that has already been done by the City’s contractor. Coffee said some of the new work areas are currently being washed out by new flooding.
City Manager Kevin Self said if work has not yet been accepted by the City, the contractor will have to correct it.
He said, “Once the City accepts it. We can’t keep going back, going back, going back, to the contractor on flooding that is destroying what they have done. Now, they need to move to get it done and make it right, but certainly we will be watching that.”
Coffey said the street Merlin Court is not on any of the projects since it is located in Phase 1 of the housing addition; however, this street is drowning Quest Court, which is in the area of the new projects.
She said, “We would love it if someone would take a look at that,” adding that the amount of flooding going onto neighboring yards is “disturbing.”
Self said when the drainage issues were first brought to the City, the only problems the City looked at were homes in Phase 2. He said the homes in that area, known as Phase 1, are already 15 years old.
Coffey said the problem is that there are new homes that have been built in the Merlin Court area that are causing problems. She said these are issues that have not always been there.
Kubier said there’s no drainage on Merlin Court, on either end, so all that water comes out. She said a sump pump was installed in the area, but it doesn’t properly work. She added that two homes, where retaining walls had been installed, are still being ruined with large amount of water coming down, over the retaining walls, and through the homes. She said the water from Merlin is going to Quest Court, and Quest can’t handle the amount so it continues to drain down towards King Arthur and to the drainage pond in that area.
Kubier said from Merlin Court to her property the water rushes down like a waterfall. She said she installed a 3-foot by 12-foot drain between her house and the neighbor’s, and an 8-inch pipe from her home to the road. They also added new gutters to their entire house.
She said she was fortunate to be able to afford the work, but said there are others in the neighborhood who can’t afford to do so.
Self said the homes in the Phase 1 area were originally designed with terrace drainage, and the drainage was to go between the homes. Mayor Karl Nail said the drain swells that were originally part of the development were either blocked or filled in by the builders who worked in the area. Nail suggested that maybe the homeowners there would have to reinstall the drainage swells between their homes.
Nail asked Kubier and Coffey to follow-up after the meeting with the City Manager, but agreed he and city staff would revisit the area and look it over.
